On May 31, Springfield Police Division officers, SWAT Team, Clark County Sheriff Office and the Ohio State Patrol were monitoring downtown Springfield where, “a large group of protesters had begun throwing rocks, bricks and bottles at law enforcement, and then began destroying property which included windows and doors,” according to an affidavit filed in the case.
Demonstrators had gathered downtown to protest racial injustice and the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis Police days earlier. Floyd’s death has sparked national outrage with violence occurring at some of the early demonstrations.
The Springfield protest began around 3 p.m. at the courthouse and roughly 1,000 people marched through the streets without incident. The protest ended around 5 p.m. and leaders and organizers asked residents to go home.
A small group of 20 to 25 people not associated with the earlier peaceful protest showed up a little after 7 p.m. in front of the courthouse. That’s when police say the group threw rocks at police, spray-painted buildings and broke several windows throughout downtown. The vandalism caused the city of Springfield to institute a two-night curfew.
PHOTOS: Protesters March in Springfield Sunday
Lanham and the juvenile were arrested on Friday after being identified in, “several videos collected from citizens and businesses showing the damage being done,” according to the affidavit.
“Officers located damage to 22 E. Main St., which is the JP Mohler LLC where two sets of entry doors and approximately seventeen windows were broken out by the defendants,” the affidavit said.
Damages caused by Lanham and the juvenile total between $20,000 and $30,000, the affidavit said.
In videos obtained by law enforcement, Lanham can allegedly be seen, “kicking and punching the front entry doors causing the glass to break,” the affidavit said. The juvenile suspect can also be seen, “breaking the front entry doors glass of the building with an unknown object and then entering the building and damaging the inner doors glass before exiting the building,” the affidavit said.
The Springfield News-Sun reached out to JP Mohler LLC about the damage to his property and the arrests of Lanham and the juvenile and did not receive a response.
As of Monday afternoon, Lanham whose bond was set at $5,000 was listed as an inmate in the Clark County Jail. The juvenile is also begin held at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center.
At least nine other properties were reported damaged that night. Lanham and the juvenile are not charged in those incidents and no additional arrests have been reported.
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