The 19-year-old who allegedly spray-painted on the Twin Peaks Pink Triangle last Pride Month has been charged with a felony, though not a hate crime, as his attorney says the kid didn’t even know what the Pink Triangle meant.
You may recall that someone vandalized the Pink Triangle placed atop Twin Peaks during last summer’s Pride Month of June, prompting SF Mayor Daniel Lurie to declare "This hateful act of vandalism does not reflect San Francisco’s values and will not be tolerated." But the suspect was actually caught in the act, and it turns out he was 19-year-old Lester Bamacajeronimo, a high school student who apparently did not realize what the Pink Triangle symbolized.
In fact, the Bay Area Reporter notes that an attorney for the young Bamacajeronimo said he was embarking on an apparent prank in which he was using black spray paint in an attempt to turn the Pink Triangle “into the symbol for the comic book hero Superman.”
That same Bay Area Reporter article does however note that Bamacajeronimo was charged with felony vandalism over the spray-paint job, as well as additional charges of possessing graffiti tools and resisting arrest. But no hate crime charges for vandalizing the LGBTQ symbol.
DA Brooke Jenkins made that decision back in June just a couple days after the vandalism, telling the Bay Area Reporter at the time, “he was unaware of what the pink triangle represented and he was trying to be artistic in modifying it.”
A San Francisco judge ruled that charges will go forward against a 19-year-old man accused of vandalizing the pink triangle installation atop Twin Peaks during Pride Month in June. https://t.co/wbJw3A9Wv6
— Bay Area Reporter (@eBARnews) October 1, 2025
The aftermath of the vandalism can be seen in the image above.
The damage to the Pink Triangle materials amounted to multiple thousands of dollars. The display’s co-founder and manager Patrick Carney will likely have to pay those expenses out-of-pocket for the 2026 Pink Triangle display.
“Mr. Bamacajeronimo, and without anyone encouraging him or helping him, decided to vandalize someone else’s property,” the case’s Judge Cecilia Castellanos said at a hearing this week when determining the charges. “It doesn’t matter what it was.”
Bamacajeronimo’s next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16 at 9 am.
Related: 19-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After Alleged Vandalism of Pink Triangle In SF [SFist]
Image: An Aerial view of San Francisco's pink Pride triangle atop Twin Peaks. An iconic symbol during Pride month. (Getty Images)
