Georgetown Cupcake keg-throwing suspect turned in by his own father after recognizing surveillance footage
The Maryland man accused of throwing a beer keg through the front window of a popular cupcake bakery turned himself in after his own father recognized him from surveillance footage circulated by police, court documents reveal.
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Charles Joseph Ali of Rockville, Maryland, is charged with felony destruction of property after he allegedly flung the metal barrel through the front window of Georgetown Cupcake in Washington, D.C. Sunday night.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Ali’s father recognized his son after authorities released surveillance images from the alleged incident in an effort to identify the suspect.
On Thursday, Ali arrived at the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District Station alongside his father and attorney to surrender to authorities, court documents revealed.
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Appearing in court on Friday, Ali pleaded not guilty to the felony charge and a judge ordered that he be released ahead of his trial, but instructed him to stay away from Georgetown Cupcake.
Ali is also suspected in connection with an April vandalism incident involving a separate nearby business, but has not been charged in that case.
Photos shared by the cupcake shop shows the smashed front entrance of the store with a metal barrel on the ground surrounded by broken glass.
Georgetown Cupcakes rose to fame after it was featured on Discovery’s "DC Cupcakes" for three seasons, and is often seen with a line that stretches around the block.
Owners Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Berman, who are sisters, both quit their careers in the finance and fashion industries to launch the famed pastry shop.
"Our shop is open," the sisters said in a joint statement Thursday after Ali's arrest. "We will keep doing what we have always done."
The store reopened just hours after the alleged attack and used plywood to cover the destroyed window.
Berman told Fox News Digital earlier this week that a lone female employee came face-to-face with the keg tosser around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, and subsequently hid in the back of the shop as the front entrance was demolished.
"She was absolutely terrified," Berman said. "She still is. She is really shaken by this. It causes a lot of psychological damage to you."
Surveillance footage shows the suspect leaving the area after hurling the keg through the window, however.
According to Berman, the individual first attempted to dislodge a metal trash can from the curb, but was unsuccessful. Additional surveillance footage shared by a nearby business showed the suspect walking around the corner and retrieving a metal keg that was outside a nearby home, Berman added.
"He's violent, and I think that, to be honest with you, in our society, we live in a civil society where there's an expectation for us to respect each other, our property, and clearly he didn't do any of those things," Berman told Fox News Digital.
Ali is scheduled to return to court on June 11.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ali’s defense attorney for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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I am just an average American. My teen years were in the late 70s and I participated in all that that decade offered. Started working young, too young. Then I joined the Army before I graduated High School. I spent 25 years in, mostly in Infantry units. Since then I've worked in information technology positions all at small family owned companies. At this rate I'll never be a tech millionaire. When I was young I rode horses as much as I could. I do believe I should have been a cowboy. I'm getting in the saddle again by taking riding lessons and see where it goes.
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