Three Plead Guilty to Desecration of Temple in Del Cerro : Crime: The young men, who have not been linked to any hate group, face sentences of three years in state prison.

Three men face sentences of three years in state prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to two felony hate crimes stemming from an August spray-paint attack on a Del Cerro synagogue.

Jeffrey John Miles, 18; Marc Edward Lee, 19, and Daron Edward Stinton, 18, stood solemnly, their hands fidgeting behind their backs as each pleaded guilty to one count of vandalizing religious property and to another hate crime called interfering with another’s exercise of civil rights.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Luis Aragon said the men attacked the Temple Emanu-El on Aug. 21 “by spraying swastikas and writing anti-Semitic statements at the temple.”

According to a temple representative, investigators have been unable to link the three to any skinhead or other hate group. But Joseph Fox, first vice president of the temple’s board of directors, said the three men could face stiffer sentences if it is determined they are part of such an organization.

Fox said the damage occurred at the school that two of his children attend on the grounds of the synagogue.

Most of the desecration was on walls, windows and doors of classrooms recently built as part of a $2.5-million renovation project. The classrooms house a preschool for 2- to 5-year-olds and a religious school for kindergarten through seventh grade.

“They even spray-painted the equipment the kids used,” Fox said. “It was sick to the extent they did that.”

Morris Casuto, director of the local branch of the Anti-Defamation League, called the desecration “the most obscene act of vandalism and desecration we’ve seen at a Jewish temple since 1988.” In November, 1988, the Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Carlos suffered $5,000 damage during a similar attack.

“We are pleased to see that this unpleasant episode is quickly coming to a conclusion,” Casuto said. “I think the reaction by the people of San Diego, the law enforcement and community leaders clearly demonstrates that this was a matter which was taken very seriously.”

The Anti-Defamation League and the temple offered up to $10,000 for information leading to arrests in the case. The San Diego Crime Stoppers, a police support group that solicits tips from the public, is determining which individuals provided useful information and how much money they will be awarded. Their identities are kept confidential by Crime Stoppers.

The sanctuary of Temple EmanuEl was vandalized in a similar attack three years ago. No arrests were made.

Miles, Lee and Stinton also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vandalism at a Del Cerro park and an abandoned house.

While each of the two felonies carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, Aragon agreed in a plea bargain not to object if the two sentences run concurrently.

The three men are also subject to fines of $10,000 and retribution payments as high as $10,000.

Any fines and payments to the victims will be determined when Municipal Judge David J. Danielson sentences the men Dec. 10.

Until then, Lee will remain free on his own recognizance, and Miles and Stinton are free after posting $15,000 bail each.