Sheriff: 19-year-old woman, 2 juveniles arrested in vandalism of historic Black church

A 19-year-old Marshall woman and two teens were arrested over the weekend in connection with the burglary and vandalism of the First Ashville Baptist Church, a historic African American church about 3 miles west of Marshall.

Both the white stucco church, built in 1899, and an adjacent schoolhouse, which served area African American children from about 1910 until about the mid-1960s, were damaged in the incident. Areas inside the church were spray-painted with black and red paint, and several rooms were ransacked, including the church office and kitchen.

In both rooms, cabinets and drawers were pulled open, and their contents strewn onto the floor. In the kitchen, dishes and glass flower vases were shattered, and flour and other food items were dumped onto the floors.

In both the church and schoolhouse, the vandals left graffiti stating: “Satan loves you” and “gay rights,” according to Paula Walton, 68, a longtime member of the church who said she attended school there until she was in about the third or fourth grade.

The Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office could not provide an estimate of the damage Monday.

The church and schoolhouse, located at 4218 Ashville Road, are part of the Ashville Historic District, which was recognized by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in the early 2000s.

The community, located along Ashville and Old Ashville roads, is described as a “Reconstruction-era African American village” comprised of about nine architecturally significant buildings dating from 1870 to 1911. The area was settled in about 1870 by freed slaves on land willed to them by Harriet and Catherine Ash, according to the VDHR website.

The vandalism was a first for the church and its schoolhouse, Walton said. The implied allegation – that the church is somehow opposed to gay rights – was especially hurtful, she said.

“We love everybody. Just because we are a church, it doesn’t mean we’re against anybody,” Walton said. “We don’t judge. … God is the one to decide, I can’t do that. All I can do is show love and do what God would want us to do. …We love everybody.”

The church is in the process of trying to raise about $100,000 for a new roof and to renovate their building. The vandalism, while upsetting, has only made the church’s small membership more resolved, Walton said.

“It makes you feel more determined to just do what we need to do to renovate,” she said. “We’re not going to let anyone or anything stop us from doing what we want to do.”

The incident “might be a blessing,” she added, if it makes people “more aware of the hatred between groups.”

“It makes us more vigilant (knowing) that this could happen again,” she added. “We’re going to still press on to do what God intended us to do. … It’s a setback, but it’s not going to stop us from doing what we need to do.”

The damage was first reported to the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, from a deacon who reported that a door to the church was open and that the schoolhouse had been vandalized.

No suspects were on scene when deputies arrived, but a neighbor provided a timeframe and description of the suspects and their vehicle, according to Jeffrey Long, a Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

On Sunday, May 21, 2023, at approximately 5:44 p.m., deputies were dispatched back to the church when a member reported that the suspected vandals had returned to the property. While on the phone with dispatchers, the witness said he saw the suspects’ vehicle leave the property, Long said.

Patrol deputies located the vehicle in Marshall and stopped it without further incident. The three occupants were detained and transported to the sheriff’s office, where they were interviewed by detectives. The parents of both juveniles, a 17-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, were present for the interviews, Long said in a news release.

According to the sheriff’s office investigation, the church and schoolhouse were burglarized and vandalized on Saturday, and some items were stolen from the church property. On Sunday, more vandalism occurred, Long said.

The investigation also determined that the adult suspect had not participated in the damage on Saturday but is alleged to have participated on Sunday, Long said.

Averie Pozzo Di Borgo, 19, of Marshall, was arrested and charged with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of destruction of property in connection with the incident, the release said.

Di Borgo was released on a $3,000 unsecured bond. Multiple charges related to the incidents are pending for the two juveniles, Long said.