Updated
Updated · The National Desk · Jul 9
David Hearn Pleads Not Guilty to $1,000-Plus Reflecting Pool Damage Charge
Updated
Updated · The National Desk · Jul 9

David Hearn Pleads Not Guilty to $1,000-Plus Reflecting Pool Damage Charge

3 articles · Updated · The National Desk · Jul 9

Summary

  • David Hearn pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court to a felony destruction-of-property charge tied to alleged damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
  • Prosecutors say the 67-year-old former Olympian ripped up about 2 square feet of the pool’s newly installed liner with his bare hands during a June 19 incident, causing more than $1,000 in damage.
  • Aug. 5 is the next court date as the case enters discovery; the judge declined the government’s request for a stay-away order from the pool.
  • The pool is being drained again for the second time in three months—officially to remove July 4 fireworks debris—after recent problems including algae, peeling paint and other vandalism cases.

Insights

Vandalism or flawed construction: What is the real reason the Reflecting Pool's new $16 million liner is already failing?
An Olympian faces a decade in prison for pool damage. Is he a criminal or a scapegoat for larger failures?