Cell Phone Video Helps Solve Vandalism Case

A cell phone video of a fight at Merrimack High School in May helped police identify a suspect in a vandalism case that resulted in thousands of dollars in damage to property owned by the Lake Naticook Beach Association.

Christopher Thorhauer, 17, of 27 Cambridge Drive, Merrimack, was arrested this week and charged with felony-level criminal mischief after police say they found video phone footage of the teen "damaging town property," police say.

The phone was in police possession because of footage of a fight, but a subsequent search of the device turned up the vandalism footage, police say. 

Police inadvertently came across the footage, Det. Scott Park said Friday afternoon. When that happened, they obtained a search warrant to look through the phone's files, he said.

Identifying Thorhauer in the video made it possible for police to connect him to thousands of dollars of damage to picnic tables, canoes and a catamaran owned by the Lake Naticook Beach Association, police say.

Thorhauer spray painted "a signature word of 'system'" on the property, police allege. Park said that signature allowed them to connect Thorhauer to the damage of of the picnic tables and boats. The footage was not of that specific incident, he said. The damage, and its associated clean up, was valued at nearly $3,000, police say.

Thorhauer was charged with the class B felony and released on $5,000 personal recognizance bail. He is scheduled to appear in Merrimack District Court on July 12.

Thorhauer is the second 17-year-old resident to be arrested on vandalism charges in the last week.

On June 10, police arrested Devin J. French, 17, of 1 Donald Road,  in connection with a they say he was involved in around a neighborhood off Baboosic Lake Road on June 5. In that incident, a house, cars, trucks, boats and other personal and public property were damaged. He was also charge with felony-level criminal mischief.

Police say they have seen a significant increase in graffiti vandalism around town, including random damage and tagging, in which the vandals design a signature of sorts to mark on property.

The increase has been such that police have created a catalog of all the damage and they continue to work to solve open cases. Thorhauer's arrest came at the end of a nearly month-long investigation, police say.

Anyone with information about any of these vandalism cases can call Detective Scott Park at 420-1818 or, to remain anonymous, call the Merrimack Crimeline at 424-2424 or submit a tip online via the Web Tips link on the department's website.