Student Charged with Felony over Menorah Damage
A University of Illinois softball player accused of vandalizing a Chabad House menorah on campus was charged Tuesday with a felony.
From The News-Gazette:
Ruby Fernandez-Rivera, 21, who listed an address on Daniel Street in Champaign, was arraigned on a single count of criminal damage to property for allegedly breaking a piece off the menorah at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life on Feb. 7.
According to a UI police report, Fernandez-Rivera and another student were captured on video approaching the menorah outside the center, 509 S. Fourth St., about 1:15 a.m. that Sunday.
She reportedly reached up to unscrew light bulbs on the menorah and in the process, the piece fell to the ground. She and her male friend, who was not charged, then ran away.
The report said the friend with her told officers who she was and admitted that both of them were drunk at the time of the incident.
Fernandez-Rivera went to the police department later for questioning and admitted breaking the menorah branch.
The junior from California was suspended indefinitely from the softball team in the wake of her identification earlier this month as the alleged vandal. On Feb. 16, she sent a letter to The News-Gazette accepting responsibility for the damage and apologizing for her actions, which she said “happened in correlation with a night out.”
“There was at no point any disrespect or malice meant towards any community or religion,” she wrote.
