JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man has been arrested after roughly 20 windows at Jacksonville City Hall were damaged Friday morning, according to an arrest report with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Police say Manual Guilarte-Rodriguez, 62, was charged with criminal mischief exceeding $1,000.
JSO responded to City Hall, located at 117 Duval Street West, around 1:55 a.m. in reference to a vandalism.
Upon arrival, police made contact with Manuel Gilarte-Rodriguez who was reportedly lying face down on the sidewalk directly in front of the location. Police say he had an injury on his left hand.
Rescue responded and took Gilarte-Rodriguez to Shands to get treatment.
The witness told police they were sleeping a few blocks away, and the suspect woke the witness up and stated he immediately called the police.
JSO says First Coast Security was on the scene when the incident occurred, but did not witness the incident. Police say the security agent advised there was damage to twenty windows on the front and side of the building and damage to the front glass door.
A piece of rebar was lying in the glass in front of the damaged front door, police say.
City Councilman Garret Dennis calling this is a terrible situation.
“It’s not unusual but to have this much damage to the city the building itself is pretty unique," said Dennis.
“We have a really good maintenance staff. We have several contractors on contract so I'm pretty sure that’s a top property to get it corrected."
A witness told police he was friends with the suspect and had known him for approximately a month and a half. He advised the suspect was having issues with getting his driver’s license.
According to a city source, he thought city hall was the DMV.
Jeffery Graf, former board member for the Jacksonville Historical Society and on a committee that is responsible for the installation of some of the front windows of city hall.
“The key thing now is being able to get the windows cleared up so that the people that are going to replace them can actually get in and do the replacement of the window," said Graf.