Llano PD investigating vandalism, flag desecration
On the left is a photo of the Llano Trinket Box before it was reportedly destroyed sometime on the night of May 12. The remains of the box were discovered on May 13, accompanied by a desecrated Israeli flag. Photos taken from Lake LBJ broadcast Facebook page
Llano police are investigating the destruction of the Llano Trinket Box, a communal cupboard created by a local high school student to help share small treasures among the city’s residents. The recent vandalism has drawn considerable scrutiny, as the perpetrators are believed to have left a desecrated Israeli flag at the scene.
Llano High School student Kiley Sanders set up the Llano Trinket Box in the Llano Railyard District in early May. The box was open to the public, but on private property. Inside were several trinkets that could be taken and then replaced with other items by visitors.
“The reason I made this box is because I felt like Llano needed to have something fun for everyone,” Sanders wrote to DailyTrib in a response to questions. “I spent months on this project collecting trinkets and trying to make the box perfect.”
The box was reportedly smashed to pieces on the night of May 12.
Sanders shared a post on the Lake LBJ Broadcast Facebook page after discovering the remains of the box on May 13. In her post, she included photos of the vandalism, which showed an Israeli flag beside the pieces of the box. The flag appeared to have been burned. It also had the word “Die” written on it, and a swastika drawn on it. That post has since been removed.
Sanders said that she plans on putting up a new box.
“The box wasn’t up for a week before it got ruined,” she said. “But I won’t let a negative person ruin everyone’s fun.”
According to Llano Police Chief John Bauer, his department is looking into the vandalism as a criminal mischief case, but also investigating the possibility of a hate crime due to the inclusion of the Israeli flag.
“We aren’t taking this lightly,” he told DailyTrib. “If this is a prank or joke or trying to get even, this isn’t the correct way. That message has a lot of power behind it that can affect a lot of people in our community.”
Bauer explained that he and his investigators have identified persons of interest in the case and believe they could be high schoolers motivated by personal conflicts, and that the flag desecration could have been done for shock value.
“I would encourage family members to maybe speak to their kids about this topic,” he said. “Kids see these things on social media and don’t understand the gravity they have.”
Criminal mischief is normally a class C misdemeanor when the vandalism is valued at a loss less than $100, with a punishment of up to $500, but that charge and punishment could be increased if it is determined that it was a hate crime, or committed because of bias or prejudice.