AUGUSTA — City police are asking the public to help identify those responsible for an overnight vandalism spree that included dozens of headstones being knocked over at the Riverside Cemetery.
Augusta Police Lt. Christopher Massey said more than a half-dozen vehicles were damaged in a spree that started on Green Street Tuesday night and ended Wednesday morning with a fire at an abandoned shed off Maple Street. In between, the vandals targeted the cemetery off Bangor Street.
Additional Images
“They tipped over well over 100 headstones,” Massey said. Augusta Public Works crews spent Wednesday morning resetting some of them, though many were damaged, Massey said.
Police are following leads, Massey said, but nobody had been charged as of Wednesday afternoon. He said investigators believe at least two people were involved.
“We can’t say for sure that they’re all connected,” Massey said. “We suspect that they are.”
The vandalism apparently began on Green Street with the smashing of a car windshield. Massey said investigators have not yet pinpointed when the damage occurred, but it was before 11 p.m. Cars also were damaged on Front and Water streets on the west side.
From there, the vandals moved to the city’s east side, damaging cars along the Bangor Street corridor, including Patterson and Quimby streets.
At least eight car windshields were smashed or hoods dented, or both. A rear window was smashed out of a car on Pearl Street.
“It looks like they got up on the hoods,” Massey said.
Vandals also scattered trash and orange construction cones at a construction site on Pearl Street. They scattered trash at the skate park at Williams Park on Bangor Street, where they also moved picnic tables and tried to tip over a portable toilet.
Massey said investigators are still tallying the cost of the damage.
“We believe it ended with a small shed fire,” he said.
That fire in an abandoned shed was reported around 9:30 a.m. at the end of Maple Street.
Augusta Fire Chief Roger Audette said a city parks and recreation employee noticed the smoke and discovered the fire.
He said there is no electricity to the building. He said the specific cause of the fire is unknown, but it is suspicious. The State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to investigate.
“There’s definitely a human element to the fire,” Audette said.
Massey asked anyone who noticed suspicious behavior during the time of the vandalism spree to call Augusta Police Detective Christopher Blodgett at 626-2370, ext. 3422.
Craig Crosby can be contacted at 621-5642 or at:
ccrosby@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @CraigCrosby4
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.