GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Two people accused of vandalizing the gravesites of President Gerald R. Ford and his wife Betty Ford are getting an alternative punishment.
Alexis Brinkert and Christian Johnson turned themselves into police shortly after Grand Rapids city officialsshared surveillance video and imagesof them sitting atop the gravesite where one of them tried to rip out a letter.
Johnson, who previouslypleaded not guiltyto malicious destruction of tombs or memorials and larceny, told the Grand Rapids Press that he didn’t know what the gravesite was and that he was sorry.
Brinkert was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says Brinkert and Johnson qualified for Kent County’s Diversion program because they had no prior record and were willing to admit responsibility for the March 27 crime.
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