David Hearn case may be dropped after Pirro cites flawed pool installation
Jeanine Pirro asked a court to dismiss charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn over Reflecting Pool sealant damage.
By Dev Ramirez · Crypto Correspondent
· 2 min read
The David Hearn case over alleged damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool may be headed for dismissal. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., asked a court Friday to throw out an indictment against the U.S. Olympic canoeist, according to a court filing described by CNBC.
Pirro’s filing said the damage to the Reflecting Pool’s sealant came from a “flawed installation,” CNBC reported. Hearn had been charged in an indictment with vandalizing the Reflecting Pool, according to CNBC.
The move matters because prosecutors are now telling the court that the alleged damage at the center of the case was not caused by the conduct charged in the indictment. A motion to dismiss is a prosecutor’s formal request for a judge to end a criminal case before trial or further proceedings.
Why did Pirro move to drop the David Hearn case?
According to CNBC, Pirro cited a court filing that attributed the sealant damage to a defective installation rather than vandalism. The filing seeks dismissal of the indictment that charged Hearn in connection with the Reflecting Pool damage.
An indictment is a formal criminal accusation, not a finding of guilt. If a judge grants a prosecutor’s motion to dismiss, the case can be ended without a trial, depending on the terms of the dismissal.
What was David Hearn accused of?
CNBC reported that Hearn, a U.S. Olympic canoeist, had been indicted on a charge connected to alleged vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The Reflecting Pool sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
The Friday court filing shifted the explanation for the reported damage away from Hearn and toward the way the pool’s sealant had been installed, according to CNBC. No additional details about the installation issue, the timing of the alleged damage, or the next court step were included in CNBC’s initial report.
CNBC described the development as breaking news and said updates were expected.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
