A Cincinnati man is facing serious federal time after allegedly vandalizing Vice President JD Vance's home. William D. DeFoor, 26, of no fixed address, is up against charges of damaging government property, getting violent in a restricted area, and assaulting federal officers, according to a criminal complaint filed yesterday by the Department of Justice. The Secret Service caught DeFoor red-handed with a hammer outside Vance's residence, U.S. Attorneys claim.
Near the stroke of midnight, it seems, DeFoor broke ranks with the law. USSS agents spotted him hammering in hand, by the VP's fence, and then things escalated quickly as he allegedly tried to shatter windows and a vehicle's glass at the protected property. "DeFoor allegedly refused law enforcement commands to stop and drop the weapon," per the affidavit, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio, which detailed his alleged spree of destruction to the tune of over $28,000 in damages.
DeFoor's flight from the scene was short-lived as agents, along with Cincinnati police officers, ended his attempted escape. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to a decade in prison for each of the property damage and restricted area violence charges, while the potential penalty for the assault charge on an officer climbs up to 20 years.
The list of charges was announced by Dominick S. Gerace II, the United States Attorney for Southern Ohio, Jason Rees of the Secret Service, and Cincinnati’s Acting Police Chief, Adam Hennie. Representing the United States in this case will be Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy L. Muncy. "A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law," the U.S. Department of Justice reminds us.
The case now moves towards a court date, where DeFoor will face the judicial music for his alleged midnight antics. As this legal drama unfolds, Cincinnati watches on, the reverberations of that hammer still echoing through the community.
