Three white males have been arrested in alleged connection to a string of vandalism acts throughout Washington County.
The case drew the ire of local citizens and law enforcement following a racial slur being written on the Downtown Sandersville mural of Olympic Gold Medalist and Sandersville native Allisha Gray on Monday, July 25.
Steven Alexander Macinsky III, age 20, of Riddleville has been arrested and charged with three felony counts of interference with government property, one felony count of vandalism to a place of worship, and five misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass.
Robert Alton Windsor, age 20, of Sandersville was charged with two felony counts of interference with government property, one felony count of vandalism to a place of worship, and five misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass.
Randall Austin May, age 19, of Sandersville has been arrested on three felony counts of interference with government property and four misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass.
The following Sandersville sites were allegedly vandalized recently by the three individuals: Allisha Gray Mural, Springfield Baptist Church, Waffle House, Pickle Barrell, and Paul F. Thiele Park. Zeta Street and a crosswalk sign were allegedly vandalized in Tennille.
“While many were aware of recent vandalism to the mural in downtown Sandersville on Monday, no one formally made a complaint to law enforcement; however, law enforcement become aware after the issue was put out on social media,” said Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran on Monday afternoon. “The Sandersville Police Department began to work on this case once they became aware. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office became aware of a separate vandalism type situation nearby but had no direct knowledge of the damage to the mural.”
Sheriff Cochran stated that investigators identified three individuals in the Sheriff’s Office cases before discovering that the same suspects were also identified by the Sandersville Police Department for alleged involvement in the Olympic Gold Medalist mural vandalism.
“County and City investigators began comparing information, which led to other similar crimes that had been committed outside of the Sandersville Police Department jurisdiction,” the Sheriff said. “The decision was made that the Washington County Sheriff’s Office would take the lead so that jurisdictional boundaries would not impede the success of the investigation nor impede a successful prosecution.”
The cases against Macinsky, Windsor, and May were prepared in an effort to present to the District Attorney’s Office.
“The Georgia Hate Crime Law is a sentencing enhancement. It is not a separate offense. The appropriate time to file for a sentencing enhancement is after an indictment but before arraignment,” said Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tripp Fitzner. “While I cannot comment on the facts of the case, once any filing is made with the clerk, the document will become a public record. We will review the charges as well as any possible sentencing enhancements at the appropriate time.”
The Allisha Gray mural was painted and unveiled on March 19 of this year in honor of her making history by winning an inaugural gold medal in the Women’s 3×3 Basketball event played during the Summer Olympics in Tokyo as a member of Team U.S.A. Gray, a Sandersville native and the sole Olympic medalist from Washington County, was recognized that day in a ceremony on the Courthouse Square. Allisha led the Washington County Lady Hawks to a 2011 Georgia High School Association State Championship. She was a key member of the 2017 NCAA Collegiate National Championship team at the University of South Carolina and currently plays in the Women’s National Basketball Association for the Dallas Wings, the team that drafted her 4th overall in the 2017 WNBA Draft en route to her winning the Rookie of the Year Award the following season.
Steven Alexander Macinsky III, age 20, of Riddleville
Randall Austin May, age 19, of Sandersville
