Man accused of damaging Iwo Jima statue may have mental health issues – NBC4 Washington

A man accused of smashing a soldier’s head at the Iwo Jima statue in Quantico, Virginia, with a hammer was granted bond Monday. A detective said the suspect showed signs of mental health issues.

Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, was charged with destruction of property after allegedly vandalizing the monument with the hammer Wednesday evening.

A Prince William County police detective testified in court Monday that Maldonado Soriano was arrested without incident, but investigators quickly developed concerns about the suspect’s mental health.

Maldonado Soriano allegedly told detectives that famous rapper DaBaby asked him to desecrate the statue. He also made several statements about self-harm, the detective said.

Prince William County police say Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to the statue. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.

The detective said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued an order against Maldonado Soriano because he was not a green card holder. Maldonado Soriano has lived in Stafford County since he was one year old.

If Maldonado Soriano is released, he could be arrested by federal immigration agents.

The detective who testified said several threats were made against the defendant on social media because the case had received a lot of attention online.

Prosecutors told the judge that online death threats made against Maldonado Soriano should be considered a reason to keep him in prison to protect him.

But the suspect’s defense attorney argued that’s not how the law is written and can’t be taken into account.

The judge ultimately ruled in favor of the defense and granted Maldonado Soriano $2,500 bail. The judge also ordered that he be placed under GPS monitoring.

A preliminary hearing has been set for January. But it is possible that Maldonado Soriano could be arrested by ICE and deported before this hearing.

Dr. Felix Weihs of Weldon carved the nine-foot limestone statue that stands today at Marine Corps Base Quantico over a nine-year period in the late 1940s and early 1950s after seeing the dramatic photograph of the event taken by photographer Joe Rosenthal.

Police said Maldonado Soriano caused damage to the statue worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“There have been generations of promotions, commissionings, retirements and reenlistments in front of this iconic monument,” said Keil Gentry, director of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle. Experts have already been consulted on repairs to the statue, which Gentry described as “probably difficult.”