Yorktown police make several arrests following painting of hate speech and imagery on walls of bridge underpass
YORKTOWN, N.Y. -- Four teenagers in the northern suburbs are facing charges for painting racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on state property.
Police tell CBS2's Tony Aiello the charges include criminal impersonation, because the four attempted to implicate an innocent classmate.
It happened on a quiet Yorktown road that sees very little traffic. On air, CBS2 blurred the pictures of the graffiti featuring ugly racist and anti-Semitic words and imagery that were splashed across the walls of a bridge underpass.
It included the "N" word, a swastika, and reference to the holocaust.
"Anyone who wants to bring vile or racist hate to our community, our police department and community will stand up against you every single time," Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater said.
Slater credited town police, especially Officer James Hannigan, for tirelessly pursuing the case.
The graffiti was tagged with initials and a first name, which Hannigan linked to students at neighboring Croton-Harmon High School.
Lucas Belth, 18, and three17-year-olds now face charges. Police say the initials and name painted at the scene were meant to implicate an innocent classmate.
"They thought that by using these racial anti-Semitic epithets, putting them up on the wall, that it could really jam up a peer of theirs," Yorktown Police Chief Robert Noble said.
Councilman Ed Lachterman, who is Jewish, said he is troubled two of the young suspects share his faith background.
"We have youth here of Jewish descent that wanted to weaponize the tools of the Nazis. It's just a horrible situation," Lachterman said.
The town's Department of Transportation spent more than $500 covering up the graffiti -- $631 to be exact. That elevated the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Because there was a swastika involved, Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah is considering a possible felony aggravated harassment charge, and Yorktown is asking the state Department of Transportation for permission to paint a unity mural at the site to push back against hate.
The superintendent of the Croton-Harmon School District released a statement, saying the hateful graffiti is "contrary to our values as a district and community."