MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Two men facing charges for spray-painting swastikas and antisemitic phrases in multiple areas throughout Sterling Heights are scheduled to be sentenced next month after pleading guilty in a Macomb County court.
Benjamin Parris, 19, of South Carolina, entered a guilty plea in May to two counts of malicious destruction of property, and two counts of conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property.
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Michael Walker, a 19-year-old from Idaho, was initially charged with four counts of malicious destruction of property, two counts of conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property, and carrying a concealed weapon, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Read more --> ‘It’s unsettling’: Sterling Heights police arrest 2 after swastikas spray-painted in several spots
The Macomb County Circuit Court dismissed count 1 on June 17 and an additional charge of making a false report of a misdemeanor was added as part of a plea agreement. He was immediately sentenced to one year of probation under the conditions that he refrain completely from drug and alcohol use, maintain employment of at least 30 hours per week and attend a training class on impulse control.
Parris is expected back in court for his sentencing at 8:30 a.m. July 14.
The charges stem from an April 19, 2025 incident during which prosecutors say the two men spray-painted nine swastikas, the number 88, “National Socialism is the way,” and “HEIL” on a fence near a Sterling Heights home.
Swastikas, antisemitic phrases, and vulgar messages were also spray-painted on the concrete pillars of an M-53 underpass at Canal Road, a brick wall near a business, and an electrical box near another business.