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Plainfield man charged with defacing Geneva fire hydrant painted in Pride rainbow

Pride-painted hydrant was painted over for 5th time this week

By Brenda Schory
Jonathan E. Darmstadt was charged with two counts of misdemeanor defacement of a Geneva-owned fire hydrant.

Jonathan E. Darmstadt was charged with two counts of misdemeanor defacement of a Geneva-owned fire hydrant. (Photo provided by Geneva police)

GENEVA – A Plainfield man was arrested July 29 after an investigation of multiple reports of criminal defacement of a city-owned fire hydrant, Geneva police announced in a news release.

The fire hydrant was painted this summer by a Geneva resident who was participating in the city’s Art on Fire program, which was established in 2013 to help bring artistic creativity into the community.

Chrissy Swanson’s pride and transgender-painted fire hydrant at State Street at Kirk Road in Geneva has been vandalized four times. Swanson repainted it after it was spray painted red on July 23, then it had paint scraped off by July 24. Swanson vowed to continue to repaint it.

Chrissy Swanson’s pride and transgender-painted fire hydrant at State Street at Kirk Road in Geneva has been vandalized and painted over several times over the past few weeks. A suspect was arrested for defacing city property on July 29. (Photo provided by Chrissy Swanson)

Residents have painted more than 100 hydrants throughout Geneva during the past 10 years.

The defacement incidents gained attention because the offender painted over the artist’s original Pride rainbow flag design, according to the release.

Jonathan E. Darmstadt, 55, of the 25000 block of Catherine Drive, Plainfield, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor criminal defacement of property.

Around noon July 29, Geneva police responded to a witness report of defacement to the fire hydrant located on Kirk Road just north of East State Street.

Officers were provided with a description of a possible offender and vehicle.

The investigation led police to a nearby business in the 1800 block of Averill Road in Geneva, where the vehicle was discovered.

Police questioning of the registered vehicle owner led to Darmstadt’s arrest, according to the release.

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and authorized charges against Darmstadt, who has been released after posting $250 bail for the $2,500 bond set for Class A misdemeanors, according to a text from Deputy Chief Brian Maduzia.

Darmstadt is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 20 at Kane County Branch Court in St. Charles, according to Maduzia’s text.

The charges against Darmstadt are Class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500, if convicted.

Attempts to reach Darmstadt for comment were unsuccessful and no court records were available Friday evening.

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