By Seth Boyes,
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The defense attorney for a Decorah teen who was charged following several instances of vandalism in September of 2023 claims investigators violated the teen’s constitutional rights while collecting evidence.
An attorney for 19-year-old Caeden Philip Andrew Nyanjenga has asked the court to suppress any and all of evidence which may have been illegally obtained during the execution of a search warrant last year. Nyanjenga is one of three individuals believed to have vandalized multiple sites in and around downtown Decorah last fall. The teen faces charges of criminal mischief as well as trespassing, and court documents indicate two of the three offenses may be considered hate crimes.
‘Catch us if you can’
The Decorah Police Department was initially informed on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, that Decorah Lutheran Church had been vandalized at some point overnight. Court documents said two crowns were painted on the church’s northern wall, and investigators initially noted the images’ resemblance to a symbol used by members of the Chicago-area gang the Latin Kings. The responding officer learned additional vandalism had also taken place uphill at the neighboring Decorah United Church of Christ — court documents described the vandalism there as more extensive.
The congregational church had installed a display on its north side, comprised of six doors painted with the main colors of the rainbow spectrum and bearing the words “God’s doors are open to all.” The officer’s account said the display was an indicator “of the church’s inclusivity of all sexual orientations,” and noted the words “God hates gays” had been spray painted on the display. Authorities also discovered paint on a nearby sign, the church’s exterior, its chimney and the building’s “newly replaced slate stone roof.”
Law enforcement later learned several other sites within less than 1,000 feet had been vandalized. An obscene phrase had been spray painted on a wall near the county courthouse, the words “Catch us if you can” were found on a retaining wall near the county attorney’s office and the former Anundsen Publishing Company on Washington Street had been painted with a date of Oct. 23, 2023. Instances of similar vandalism were also discovered along Trout Run Trail, near a crosswalk at Palisades Park and southeast of Decorah High School — court documents indicate a Swastika had been painted on a retaining wall in the school’s parking lot. Initial estimates said the total damage among the various locations was believed to be more than $10,000.
Investigators were able to obtain video surveillance footage from locations near almost all of the affected sites. The footage captured three suspects, two of which law enforcement believed to be Nyanjenga and now 19-year-old Jose Macias Torres of Decorah. Investigators said Decorah High School staff verified the individuals in the footage appeared to be Nyanjenga and Torres, according to court documents, but could not verify the identity of the third individual. Court documents indicate the third individual has since been the subject of a case within the juvenile court system.
‘You can’t place a price on forgiveness’
Defense questions entry of evidence
Full article in the October 24 Decorah Leader.
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