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| Hare Krishna devotees worship at the Krishna Temple in Alachua on Sunday. |
Someone had clogged the toilets, he said.
The
damage extended far beyond that inconvenience. Someone had defecated on
the bathroom floor, strewn bleach around the temple and into a
fountain, broke furnishings and tossed books into the fountain.
There
were only a few people at the temple because many other devotees
planned to attend a festival in Clearwater later that day. Goldman said
he had an idea who was responsible: Peter Bergman.
Bergman had been at the temple from time to time, including that morning. He had even stayed at the guest house.
He
had struck other members as strange, but that raised no alarms. "He
seemed a little odd, but we normally don't jump to conclusions about
oddness," said Miriam Tassinare, president of the ISKCON of Alachua
temple at 17306 NW 112th Blvd.
Sheriff's
deputies came to the scene and arrested a man they say helped Bergman
deface the facility, while later filing a sworn criminal complaint
against Bergman.
For a
community that strives for a peaceful existence — devotees generally
don't kill other creatures, even mosquitos — the incident has been a
wakeup call.
The Hare Krishna community in Alachua welcomes newcomers to visit the temple, Tassinare said, and that won't change.
"We're
always open for people to come experience our meditation and the
spiritual atmosphere here, but we'll probably look more now at having
some security here," she said.
They lock their doors and
have an alarm system that keeps the building secure at night, but she
said they'll probably look at adding security during services and other
times.
Tassinare said she
also wants to talk to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office about the
congregation's rights, such as whether they can physically restrain
someone who vandalizes their property. She explained that devotees are
allowed to restrain an aggressor without compromising their religious
views or lifestyle.
This incident could have been much worse, she said. There wasn't a lot of damage, and no one was hurt.
Because
he was a familiar face, Bergman's arrival around 7 a.m. Saturday didn't
ring any alarm bells, she said. And devotees said they assumed the man
with him, Melshizedek Reyes, was a friend of Bergman's.
"But I think very soon after he came, they began acting erratic," Tassinare said.
According
to a sheriff's report, the men said the temple was unclean and threw
bleach around the facility and poured bleach into a decorative fountain
at the front of the temple.
They
threw books into the fountain and broke vases, according to the report.
A sacred plant was also broken, Goldman said, which is considered
offensive to Krishna devotees.
He said Reyes seemed to be following Bergman's orders during the incident.
"Whatever that other guy (Bergman) told him, it seemed like he would do," he said.
Bergman,
54, had seemed a little strange to other members of the temple, Goldman
said, but they didn't think he'd do anything like this.
"We didn't expect that, even though he was little weird," he said.
After discovering the damage,
a staff member suggested that Goldman drive the men to their homes, but
Goldman said no. He said they should call the Sheriff's Office and then
went back outside to keep an eye on the men.
When
a deputy arrived, he arrested Reyes, who refused to give him any
identification and said he was not going to speak to the deputy. Each
man was carrying a bag — a backpack and a grocery bag — and they refused
to let the deputy see what was inside, according to the report.
Reyes
tried to run away from the deputy and was shot with a Taser stun gun
after turning and charging at the deputy, according to a report.
Reyes,
25, of Volusia County, was arrested on charges of damage to
property/criminal mischief, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace at
a religious facility.
Bergman,
however, was taken to Shands at the University of Florida. He still had
a bracelet from Shands, where he had recently been treated for bone
cancer, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Art Forgey.
He said the deputy felt Bergman needed medical attention. Medical issues take precedent over arrests, he said.
Bergman
later was charged via a sworn criminal complaint with damage to
property/criminal mischief, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace at
a religious facility.
Forgey
said the State Attorney's Office could determine that Reyes and Bergman
should receive hate crime charges, but that hasn't been done yet.
Despite the concerns this incident has raised, Tassinare said she doesn't consider this a hate crime.
"I think it was really the crime of crazy people," she said.
