Mischief Charges for Damage Caused by Somebody Else

A man in New Jersey took a picture frame off of the wall in a restroom, and accidentally dropped it. It made a great deal of noise, but nothing was broken. The bar called the police, and the man is being accused of knocking or punching holes into the bathroom wall. All he did was take down a picture frame, and that didn't cause any damage, but he's charged with criminal mischief and being accused of causing thousands of damages. What should he do?

He should work with a criminal defense lawyer. If he didn't cause the damage to the walls, then there should be witnesses who can testify that it was pre-existing -- although it will likely take some effort to find credible witnesses. If nobody recalls seeing the holes in the wall until responding to the clatter from the defendant's bad decision to take a picture off of the wall, that is likely to be a problem for him.