Police Charge Male Juvenile, 17, With Defacing Custom Murals Painted In Parking Stalls At High School

Lacey police have arrested a 17-year-old male juvenile from Forked River for defacing a number of custom-painted parking stalls at Lacey Township High School earlier this month, Police Chief Michael DiBella said.

Detectives Robert Surtees and Michael Eden charged the youth on Aug. 22 with criminal mischief, reckless driving, driving without a license and operating an unregistered vehicle, the chief said.

The incident took place during the night of Aug. 9, when an older pickup truck damaged 20 of the parking stalls, which had been freshly painted. The driver spun the tires of the truck over the stalls, causing $2,500 in damage, DiBella said.

The murals in the parking stalls had been painted by students as part of a fundraising effort. They will be repainted on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the chief said.

The Central Regional Alumni Association donated the replacement paints to Lacey High School seniors for their parking spot program, Central Regional Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said.

"Since Lacey students at one time went to Central Regional, the Alumni was very interested in helping once the students parking spots were vandalized," he said.

Image: Lacey Township Police Department