WINSLOW — A Waterville man was summoned on a felony charge after police found graffiti on 20 to 30 items near schools in Winslow.
Jeremy Chartrand, 18, was summoned Friday on a charge of aggravated criminal mischief, a class C felony, because of the level of damage he caused to buildings and signs in the area and the associated cost with the cleanup, which police Chief Shawn O’Leary called “definitely excessive.”
Police started receiving calls about the graffiti around 8:30 a.m. Friday, O’Leary said. Chartrand allegedly vandalized the campus area on Danielson Street around Winslow Elementary School, Winslow Junior High School and Winslow High School, as well as the area around St. John Catholic School on South Garand Street.
Chartrand allegedly used a large Sharpie to “tag” signs and other objects in all but one incident in the late hours of Aug. 24. O’Leary said “tagging” is essentially when a person marks items with his or her logo. None of the graffiti appeared to be hateful or aimed at any group of people, he said, though a penis was drawn on the dugouts behind the high school.
O’Leary said the vandalism will be difficult to reverse because there were “so many signs” marked, and some may need to be replaced. Chartrand also allegedly tagged a truck and the walls of the buildings.
A witness claims to have seen Chartrand committing the crime, which is how police identified him a suspect, O’Leary said.
Police are familiar with Chartrand, O’Leary said, but he wouldn’t release information about previous encounters, as they happened when Chartrand was a minor.
Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239
mstamour@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @madelinestamour
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