Zachary A. Soltis has made his first appearance in Chelan County Superior Court.

The 28-year-old appeared in court Friday to answer for charges of felony malicious mischief and misdemeanor reckless driving. Soltis is apparently an Illinois native living in Lewisville, Texas.

He is accused of laying waste to a considerable swath of Gazebo Park, located at 820 Front St. in Leavenworth.

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According to the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, back in late December, a silver Toyota Tundra belonging to Soltis was observed "spinning donuts on the grass on the park, destroying a 90' x 50' section." The incident was captured by witnesses on cell phone video.

"For anyone else out there, that is, in a sense, just damage to property - that's what malicious mischief is," Sheriff Mike Morrison told KPQ at the time. "We know it's intentional because we've seen the video and we're going to hold them accountable; it's a felony-level crime."

The fallout was severe: nearly $16,000 in damages.

By that point authorities already had some pertinent clues as to Saltis' identity, including his vehicle and license plate number.

Saltis was released on his own recognizance ahead of his trial, which is set to begin on April 22, almost four months to the day after Leavenworth was rocked by this brazen act of defacement.

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