Authorities: Wheaton man wrote anti-gay graffiti on church, park benches
A Wheaton man has been accused of writing anti-gay graffiti Monday on a church, park benches and an elevator door, according to DuPage County court records.
Joe Fustar, 60, of Hale Street, is charged with one count of criminal damage to the property of a school or place of worship, and two counts of criminal damage to government-supported property. All are felony charges.
According to the charges, around 9 a.m. Monday, Fustar used a marker to write the graffiti on a stone bench and an exterior door at Gary United Methodist Church, 224 N. Main St., and on the elevator doors at a city parking garage at 232 W. Wesley St. Then at 7 p.m., he is accused of writing the same phrase on 10 benches at Adams Park on Wesley Street.
He has been released from jail on a $10,000 personal-recognizance bond.
"The City of Wheaton is a welcoming, inclusive community with no tolerance for this type of hate speech,” Wheaton Police Chief William Murphy said in a news release. “Our police officers and detectives worked swiftly to put an end to these offensive homophobic rants.”
According to DuPage County court records:
• In 2018, Fustar was found guilty of hitting a man in the neck with the handle of a garden rake. Counseling was ordered.
• In 2018 he was charged with ordinance violations of assault and disorderly conduct at a Public Action to Deliver Shelter site in Carol Stream. He allegedly told a female social worker “you are going to get hit so hard,” called her racist and sexist epithets and said someone was going to “sexually grope you and take off all your clothes.” Prosecution was dropped.
• He was charged with an ordinance violation in Elmhurst in 2015 when he was accused of stealing coins out of a downtown fountain. Prosecution was dropped.
• In 2014, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for a case in Glendale Heights. He was accused of chasing and threatening to shoot a boy at Reskin Park, 495 E. Fullerton Ave., and eventually catching up to the boy and grabbing him. He was living at 1584 Charles Drive, Glendale Heights, at the time.
• In 2012, he was found guilty of ordinance violations for being in Reskin Park after closing time and for having alcohol on public property.