WOODLAND — Two months after being sentenced for hate-crime vandalism, Lauren Kirk-Coehlo returned to Yolo Superior Court on Friday for a follow-up hearing that revealed that she appears to be staying on track with her probation instructions.
Kirk-Coehlo was sentenced to five years probation after she pleaded guilty to hate-crime vandalism of the Davis Islamic Center on Jan. 22. She was caught on camera shattering six windows, puncturing bicycle tires, and wrapping raw bacon — a forbidden food in the Muslim religion — around the mosque’s door handles.
Yolo Superior Court Judge Daniel Maguire read a probation report stating that Kirk-Coehlo appears to be following her orders closely. Those include performing 120 hours of community service, avoiding social media and paying $7,612 in restitution — which was done before her sentencing.
She also was sentenced to 374 days in county jail but Maguire stayed her 119 remaining jail days after calculating time already served and good-conduct credit. She was discharged from custody on June 16, the date of her sentencing.
Since June, Kirk-Coehlo has attended weekly therapy visits with Dr. Joan Gerbasi. Probation officers conducted four home visits since the sentencing, and noted that she has not been engaged on social media during that time.
Maguire added a clarification to Kirk-Coehlo’s prohibition from social media stating, “In my view, it’s broad enough to include any comments on a website. … Not saying that that has occurred.”
Following her arrest, authorities announced that Kirk-Coehlo’s bail at the Yolo County Jail was set at $1 million, the steep figure later explained in a Davis police detective’s affidavit outlining her social media activity and internet search history.
Detective Dan La Fond noted that Kirk-Coehlo wrote on Twitter of having “dreams and aspirations” of killing people, glorified Charleston, S.C., church shooter Dylann Roof and researched Quebec mosque attack suspect Alexandre Bissonnette, and wrote of having “mental problems” in texts to her mother.
Over the past few months, however, defense attorneys said they’ve seen Kirk-Coehlo’s demeanor shift to a more positive one. She arrived for Friday’s hearing with a smile on her face, clad in casual street clothing, including dark jeans and blouse.
“I’ve seen a marked change in her for the better,” said attorney Steven Sabbadini.
Kirk-Coehlo’s sentence also includes 120 hours of community service. So far, she has completed 20 hours with the Yolo Food Bank.
“I’m glad to see she’s progressing in her community service … at a pace better than a lot of defendants,” said prosecutor Ryan Couzens.
Maguire held back Friday on initiating a restorative justice process, saying that after reading Gerbasi’s therapy notes he does not believe it is time for that process to begin.
“I defer to (Dr. Gerbasi’s) notes and I do hope at some point soon she applies for restorative justice,” Couzens said. “I think she might see it as a very positive experience.”
Hamza El-Nakhal, former board president of the Davis Islamic Center, said Friday that any ill feelings surrounding the vandalism incident are in the past. He did not attend the hearing.
“We have forgiven her a long time ago,” El-Nakhal told The Enterprise. “We would love to talk to her and we would love to answer any of her questions.”
El-Nakhal also welcomed the possibility of future restorative justice, and any other means of helping members of the community feel at ease.
Maguire set another follow-up court hearing for Dec. 15.
— Reach Felicia Alvarez at falvarez@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8052. Follow her on Twitter at @ReporterAlvarez