Sonoma County man convicted in pig's blood vandalism case

A Sonoma County man was convicted Tuesday in a Santa Rosa vandalism case in which the former home of a police investigator who testified in connection with the 2020 killing of George Floyd was smeared with pig's blood.

During a hearing in Sonoma County Superior Court, Judge Mark Urioste sentenced Colin Metcalfe to 120 days in jail, which he could serve on work release.

He is not allowed to associate with the other defendants involved in the case and must also stay away from the property owner, who was identified in court as Jane Doe.

A restitution hearing will be scheduled for a later date. Jane Doe's attorney, Richard Freeman, said the property damage alone will cost her more than $10,000.

“She was a completely innocent bystander in all of this,” Freeman told The Press Democrat after Tuesday's hearing.

Metcalfe is not in custody and declined to comment outside court on Tuesday.

His lawyer, Gabriel Quinnan, told Urioste in court that Metcalfe “apologised” for his actions.

“He didn't realize at the time that it would have such an impact,” Quinnan said.

Metcalfe was among a handful of defendants accused in the April 17, 2021, vandalism in which a house in Country Manor in Santa Rosa was smeared with pig's blood and then poured over the “Agraria” hand statue in downtown Santa Rosa.

The house was formerly the residence of Barry Brodd, who testified as a police expert on behalf of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing Floyd.

Viral footage from May 25, 2020, shows Chauvin pressing his knee against Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes while he gasped and said he couldn't breathe. Floyd eventually lost consciousness and was pronounced dead.

Floyd's killing sparked local, national and international protests against police brutality and led to rapidly rising calls for comprehensive and lasting reforms and greater oversight of the police.

Demonstrations took place throughout Sonoma County, including in Santa Rosa, where there were clashes between reform supporters and police.

Investigators said Metcalfe and co-defendant Christina Henry targeted the house where they believed Brodd was still living. Defendants Amber Lucas and Kristen Aumoithe focused on the sculpture.

According to testimony during the preliminary hearing last year, there were disagreements between the defendants and the latter two were not in favor of attacking the house.

Jane Doe, Brodd's ex-wife, testified that her ex-husband had previously lived in the house but had not lived there since March 2020 – more than a year before the vandalism.

At the end of the preliminary hearing last year, Judge John Behnke ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Henry, but ordered the other three defendants to stand trial.

On October 27, Aumoithe entered into an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to the charges of vandalism and conspiracy.

Metcalfe and Lucas reached a plea agreement on July 31, pleading no contest to the vandalism charge. Lucas is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

On Tuesday, Freeman read a statement on behalf of Jane Doe, saying that she continues to suffer from sleep problems three years later.

Freeman said she is still haunted by the fact that she woke up in the middle of the night to find her house vandalized, and the aftermath of the incident has also affected her: Passersby took photos of her house and laughed at her while news reporters approached her.

“She continues to live in fear and anxiety,” Freeman said Tuesday after the court hearing.

Reach staff writer Colin Atagi at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @colin_atagi