Man charged for smashing windows of Detroit bar Café D’Mongo’s pays for damage | Metro Detroit News | Detroit

In a shocking security video, a young white man is shown hurling a patio chair through the windows of Detroit bar Café D’Mongo’s early Sunday morning.

On Friday, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that Jaden Alex Geck, 21, of Ira, Michigan, has been charged for the crime. In a statement, Worthy’s office said Geck was arrested on Thursday and was charged with malicious destruction of property ($1,000 or more but less than $20,000), a felony with a maximum penalty of 5 years behind bars.

“It is critically important that the public is able enjoy everything, everywhere that southeastern Michigan has to offer — especially in the State’s largest and most diverse city,” Worthy said in a statement. “Café D’Mongo’s is a place where people come from all over for an enjoyable experience. The alleged actions of this defendant are criminal, and upset that balance.”

Speaking to WDIV-TV, Larry Mongo, the owner of the longstanding business, connected the act of destruction to the spate of mass shootings.

“He threw that chair through that window as a way to handle his anger,” Mongo said. “Then, I thought about every mass shooter had a beginning.”

He added, “‘I want to make the world feel as miserable as I am,’” imagining what might have been going on in the young man’s mind.

In the statement, Worthy’s office reminds that charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Geck was arraigned in Detroit’s 36th District Court and given a $50,000 personal bond. A probable cause conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on May 24 and a preliminary examination is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. on May 30, both before Judge Patricia Jefferson.

After he was charged, Geck and his father met with Mongo to apologize and pay for the broken window, according to a post published Friday on Café D’Mongo’s Facebook page.

“The Geck Father and Son met Larry at Lafayette Coney Island to apologize and deliver a cashiers check for all expenses to repair our window,” the post reads. “All is well… Thank you Larry and the Geck Family for sharing a terrific outcome with the world!”

“Larry Mongo is a great compassionate man, he is a class act, that did not have to do what he did for my Son, a life lesson has been learned at a critical moment in life, but not only has he taught him to own up and pay for your actions, but also how to forgive when someone does you wrong,” Jeff Geck Sr. wrote in a comment under the Facebook post, adding, “God Bless !!”

A spokesperson for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office says that the case will still proceed to court.

Following an initial run from 1985 to 1995, Café D’Mongo’s reopened in 2007 at 1439 Griswold St. in Detroit’s Capitol Park neighborhood.

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