Man arrested in connection with vandalism of West L.A. synagogue

A man has been arrested in connection with a series of vandalisms in West L.A., including at a Pico-Robertson synagogue last month.

Jon Knight Prince was arrested Thursday on suspicion of committing 13 acts of vandalism on Westwood and Pico boulevards between May 26 and Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said. He was booked on suspicion of felony vandalism and was being held on $325,000 bail.

The department did not specify how many counts of vandalism Prince faced. It was not immediately clear who was representing him.

Officials said Prince threw bricks, rocks or hard objects at the windows of buildings. LAPD spokesman Tony Im confirmed that one of the incidents involved the vandalism of Young Israel of Century City synagogue on Pico Boulevard.

Security camera footage released to the media by the synagogue showed a man throwing a concrete slab at the building about 1 a.m. Friday .

The synagogue’s shatterproof windows stopped the slab from breaking the glass. The man tried a second time to throw the concrete at the building, then rushed off.

The vandal was also suspected of tossing concrete at Pat’s, a kosher steakhouse nearby, and shattering a window there. Im said he could not confirm whether Prince had been arrested in relation to that incident or whether officials were investigating the incident at the synagogue as a hate crime.

The acts occurred during a national surge in antisemitic attacks amid the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The city’s elected officials gathered last month to denounce an attack on diners outside a Westside sushi restaurant where people shouted slogans against Israel.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of assault in the attack, which occurred about 2½ miles from the synagogue.

Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.