Bond set at $54k for woman accused of vandalizing Charleston firefighter memorial

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Bond was set at $54,250 for a 32-year-old woman accusing of vandalizing a memorial site dedicated to nine fallen Charleston firefighters.

Eman Mubarek Brown, 32, faces charges of malicious injury to real propery and attempts to burn in connection to the June 26 incident at the Charleston 9 Memorial Park. She was arrested in Lexington County last week.

She was given a $50,000 bond for the attempting to burn charge, and a $4,250 total bond for petit larceny and malicious injury to personal property charges.

A police officer stopped at the Charleston 9 Memorial park at approximately 1:40 a.m. that morning when he noticed debris in the median. The officer found an American flag draped over a cross along with several smaller flags scattered around, an incident report states.

The officer then noticed the nine PVC pipe memorial crosses at the park had been ripped out of the ground and broken.

Authorities say Brown also has an additional warrant for petit larceny for the theft of an American flag and South Carolina state flag from the flag pole of the CresCom bank at 884 Orleans Road. Police say the flags were taken two hours after the Charleston 9 Memorial was vandalized.

Charleston Police investigators said private surveillance video from a business near the memorial site and at the bank helped them identity Brown as the suspect. Brown was booked into the Lexington County Detention Center on Thursday and was booked into Al Cannon Detention Center just before 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Affidavits released on Monday state that a witness saw the suspect damaging PVC crosses that were in front of the memorial by kicking them. In additions, flags inside the park were also damaged.

Authorities say after reviewing video from a nearby gas station, investigators were able to identify the suspect due to numerous prior contacts with her and knew her by name and face. While reviewing the video, officers said the suspect was seen walking around the gas station parking lot for several hours prior to the vandalism.

According to the affidavit, she is then seen leaving the parking lot and walking toward the memorial wearing a backpack, and several minutes later, she is seen returning to the memorial with the same backpack.

A Charleston police officer reported seeing in the median multiple American flags, a PVC cross, a large American flag, a Charleston 9 flag, a metal memorial sign, and a paper cup in a pile.

All the items were located in the roadway and were taken from the the memorial, and the items smelled of gasoline, according to the report.

Additionally, there were cigarette burn holes in the Charleston 9 flag.

Another officer responded to the nearby CresCom Bank for a larceny. Video showed that the suspect is seen walking towards the flag pole, and removing the South Carolina flag and the American flag and walking away from the property with both flags.

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