NORTH CAPE MAY – The Lower Township Police Department has arrested four teenagers in connection with vandalism discovered about nine days earlier.
On Feb. 23, the public restrooms at Lincoln Boulevard and Beach Drive were found sprayed with graffiti. The restroom, a roughly $400,000 project, opened in October 2023. The graffiti was removed, reportedly by three senior citizens who live in the area. As of March 4, the doors still showed signs of damage.
Police said in a release March 4 that after an extensive investigation by members of the Patrol Division and the Detective Bureau, three juvenile males and an 18-year-old male from North Cape May were identified as being responsible for the vandalism.
Besides the restrooms, additional graffiti damage was discovered at other locations, including a vinyl fence behind The Produce Place in North Cape May and areas within Cape May City. According to Cape May Police Chief Dekon Fashaw, the same individuals are facing charges in Cape May.
According to Lower Township Manager Mike Laffey, the cleanup work to remove the graffiti was extensive and time-consuming. Laffey said township employees from Public Works and Parks and Recreation, along with several members of the public, attempted to remove the graffiti, but the results were not 100% effective.
“This is just a waste of everyone’s time, and some of those boards are very expensive,” Laffey said, adding that the township would seek restitution for the damage.
He said even with the cleaning and power-washing, faint images of the graffiti remain.
Lower Township charged the three juveniles on juvenile complaints with third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief, disorderly persons offenses, and third-degree conspiracy to commit criminal mischief. The 18-year-old, whose name was not provided, was charged on a criminal complaint summons and subsequently released.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
