A skateboarder named Jon Garrett was arrested and sentenced to two days in jail after skating on a curb with plastic rails. His family later bailed him out, and a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help with legal fees.
Unfortunately, the punishment for only skateboarding a curb is excessively severe since the rails on his skateboard prevent damage to the obstacle.
The 28-year-old was charged with felony 2nd-degree destruction of property and criminal trespassing by only skating on wet concrete.
On October 22, 2022, Garrett's skateboarding session began innocently enough at a random lot in Blairsville, where he was joined by the homies.
During this session, he attempted two tricks on a curb with plastic rails, a wise measure to safeguard his board and the obstacle from potential damage.
He then posted the skate clip on Instagram, stating a two-piece on a fresh curb and only putting a minor amount of skateboard wax at most on the curb.
Then, all of a sudden, Blake Carroll commented on his Instagram post stating, "Maybe you should make sure you own the concrete before playing on it." He replied "Sorry for the trouble." He never received any response after.
On November 1, 2022, at 7:30 am, he was arrested for skateboarding on wet concrete. He spent two days in jail after being charged.
Garrett had never met the landowners who filed restraining orders against him without any prior warning.
Although skateboarding is a crime and not an Olympic sport, the small curb can be fixed quickly, and it shouldn't be too harsh with jail time.
The skateboarder expressed his frustrations and sought support with his friend Corwin, whom he rides with for Paltas Skateboard Co started a GoFundMe campaign.
Please donate now here.
The GoFundMe Stated: "Hi my name is Jon Garrett. I am a 28 year old skateboarder that lives in Blairsville, Georgia. I have skated 16 years never giving up due to it being my main passion. On October 22, 2022 I was skateboarding at a random lot in blairsville with friends. I did two tricks on my skateboard on a curb with plastic rails (rails that prevent damage to my board and obstacles) that a friend of mine filmed. I posted it to Instagram stating a two piece on a fresh curb. I only put a minor amount of skateboard wax at most on this curb. Someone commented on my instagram post stating, “maybe I should find out who owns the property before I go playing on it”. I replied “I am sorry for the trouble”. I never receive any response after. November 1, 2022 I was arrested at 7:30 am. I was told I was skateboarding on wet concrete and that I was being charged with a felony 2nd degree destruction of property and criminal trespassing. I was arrested and stayed in jail 2 days before I was bonded out by family. I have never met the land owners in my life who also put restraining orders against me after. I never received a warning. I was arrested for doing two boardslides on a curb. I am truly sorry for ever going on that property that had no signs posted private or wet concrete. My friend Corwin that I ride with for Paltas Skateboard Co started a GoFundMe to help with retaining a lawyer to defend me on this case which I was absolutely grateful. Thankfully I was able to get help from a lot of loving and supportive people to raise that amount to even begin this process. And for that I am unbelievably thankful! Since November 1st I have not felt myself as a person for being charged for the one thing that I am truly passionate about. I have lost weight, time, energy, and mental stability through this process of being accused of being a felon for riding my skateboard. I truly apologize and wish that this situation would come to an end because it feels like a tremendous weight baring down on me living in a town that views skateboarding as a very unlawful act, to the point it has been illegal my whole life and still is to this day in Blairsville city limits. It’s not easy to be a skateboarder in a small town in any city that clearly doesn’t have any respect for it. I was informed by my lawyer that if I can raise $1,200 to pay the restitution that they will be asking for the felony to be dropped to a misdemeanor charge. This gofundme will allow me to move on from this chapter in my life and bring me one step closer to removing this weight from my shoulders. If you can find the time and don’t mind sharing my story it would be a blessing to have this situation resolved. Please donate what you can. Sharing my story and the link to this page would mean everything to me during this time in my life that I feel has been on standby. Thank you and I appreciate you all!"