Ex-Olympian David Hearn pleads not guilty in pool damage case
What’s next: Hearn was released without bail and is due back in D.C. Superior Court on Aug. 5.
Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony charge that he damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington. Prosecutors accuse Hearn, 67, of destroying a section of sealant and causing more than $1,000 in damage after work on the pool had recently been completed. Hearn has said he only touched the water and a loose piece of liner while passing by on a bicycle ride. Judge Carmen McLean released him on his own recognizance after the arraignment in D.C. Superior Court. The case has drawn extra attention because the pool’s roughly $14 million renovation under the Trump administration has been criticized after peeling liner and algae appeared soon after the work was finished.