LGBTQ Connection responds to sign vandalism in Napa; man arrested

Napa Register

Howard Yune

March 14, 2024

Apair of plaques bearing the logo of a nonprofit supporting Napa County’s LGBTQ youth community has been hit by vandals at least four times in recent months, according to members of the group and law enforcement officials.

One of the LGBTQ Connection signs, part of a welcome-to-Napa display on Soscol Avenue in south Napa, was sprayed with black paint in July, August, and again in January. An unknown person sprayed a swastika on the second LGBTQ Connection sign off Highway 29 on or about Feb. 10.

“I felt it was an escalation of the vandalism; the symbolism was more aggressive," LGBTQ Connection’s director of training and technical assistance Heather “Coach” Bailie told the Napa Valley Register about the latest incident.

“As an LGBTQ resident, that hits really hard. It doesn’t feel very welcoming, and to have that on our welcome sign isn’t anything we want anyone to see (when) driving into our community.

“We are seeing almost daily across the country how anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans words affect people. Queer and trans youth need to see people step up and do something.”

The response to the sign attacks has included replacement placards paid for by local elected officials and, in one case, installed by Napa Mayor Scott Sedgley, Bailie said.

Finally, Napa County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Fairfield man on suspicion of painting over the Soscol Avenue LGBTQ Connection sign on or about Jan. 8.

Wade Andrew Wilson, 61, was arrested Jan. 26 on a warrant for felony vandalism, according to Napa County Superior Court records. He posted $25,000 bail and faces an arraignment Tuesday in Napa.

The first spray-paint attack occurred shortly before July 7 on the nonprofit’s plaque, one of several promoting nonprofit and fraternal groups that comprise a welcome sign maintained by the Kiwanis Club of Napa near Napa State Hospital. Freemason, Odd Fellows and Order of the Eastern Star placards also were damaged in that incident.

The vandalized signs were replaced, but LGBTQ Connection’s sign — which had previously been displayed without incident since late 2016 — again was defaced with black paint around Aug. 23, according to Bailie. Because other groups’ logos were left untouched this time, members of the nonprofit began to treat the vandalism as a likely hate crime, according to Bailie.

LGBTQ Connection informed authorities including Napa Police, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office and the Division of State Hospitals, which owns the Napa State Hospital and the land where the Kiwanis-managed welcome sign is located.

“The first time was a red flag for us,” said Napa Councilmember Mary Luros. “We tried to address it quickly; we worked to get cameras up with police and the sheriff’s office, to catch whoever was doing this.”

"Knowing this has happened more than once, I did have a growing concern that this was a targeted crime and we needed to address it as quickly as possible," said Napa County Supervisor Belia Ramos, who joined Luros in helping pay for one of the placards eight years ago.

By December, the nonprofit gained state permission to install security cameras near the Soscol Avenue display to capture any further attempts at vandalism, Bailie said.

Shortly after the cameras’ arrival, LGBTQ Connection’s Soscol Avenue placard was damaged, along with the Freemason and Eastern Star signs. The Napa County court approved a warrant for Wilson in that attack Jan. 17, and he was detained nine days later.

Sgt. Frank Walsh of the Napa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that surveillance video from the new cameras enabled the department’s Problem-Oriented Policing Program — known as POPP — to identify a suspect and his vehicle.

Afterward, however, LGBTQ Connection’s other south Napa placard — displayed near the Meadows retirement home — endured a more sinister attack: the spraying of a red swastika.

No suspects had been identified in the swastika incident as of Friday night. Walsh said investigators do not believe the incidents at the Highway 29 and Soscol Avenue signs are related.

“I don’t know why it happened so suddenly,” said Luros. “It’s concerning because the whole point (of the signs) was to foster a sense of belonging and connection for people who saw the emblem. To have that emblem so visibly destroyed was concerning — and then having it happen again after we fixed it.

“I think this escalation was a one-time thing, I’m hoping. I don’t think our community will allow this sort of thing to continue. We are taking the steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s important that our LGBTQ community doesn’t have a fear of discrimination.”