A Florissant man allegedly confessed to knocking over 120 headstones in February 2017 at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City, according to the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office. 

Alzado Harris, 34, has been charged with institutional vandalism, a class D felony, according to documents from the prosecutor’s office.

Police found a jacket at the scene of the vandalism that contained DNA, a spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said.

Law enforcement obtained a DNA sample from Harris when he entered prison for a different crime in December and discovered the match earlier this month, McCulloch said at press conference Wednesday.

University City Police arrested Harris Tuesday at his home, and he later confessed.  

The vandalism generated national attention and prompted Gov. Eric Greitens to organize a clean-up that drew more than 1,000 people, including Vice President Mike Pence. 

“Can you believe it?” Chesed Shel Emeth Society Executive Director Anita Feigenbaum said after news of the confession. “How about that? We are very pleased that the vandal has been caught and has been charged.”

For more than a year, University City police officers said that they did not have a suspect but that they also had not closed the case.

“They have assured us that they would not be closing the case and that they would continue to look into it, and we were always hopeful that they were gong to be able to find out who did it,” said Feigenbaum.

The vandalism caused more than $30,000 in damage, according to the prosecutor’s office. (The cemetery director said after the vandalism that 154 headstones had been damaged or knocked over, but the prosecutor’s office reported the Harris had confessed to knocking over 120.) 

According to the prosecutor’s office, Harris had an argument with a friend who dropped him off near the University City cemetery in February 2017. Police said Harris told them he was intoxicated when the vandalism occurred

“He was in an altered state and was very angry about things,” said McCulloch. “It does not appear that there was any anti-Semitic motive.”

The vandalism occurred after Jewish Community Centers around the country — including centers here in St. Louis — received a string of bomb threats. After the vandalism, many people pointed to anti-Semitism as a motive. The Anti-Defamation League labeled the crime as an anti-Semitic incident in its 2017 annual audit. 

“On the one hand, I’m glad it’s not anti-Semitic. There is too much of that going on; on the other hand, it’s just sad that any kind of vandalism of this sort would happen,” said Feigenbaum. 

Harris is being held at the St. Louis County jail. His bond is $20,000.

The St Louis Jewish Light will continue to update the story.