By Jim Newell
Review Editor
Vandals who spray painted vulgar words and images on the signs, trees and walkways on the Paint Creek Trail have been identified after a trail cam photo of the suspects went viral last week.
As of Thursday – just two days after the vandalism was first reported on Orion Twp. Supervisor Chris Barnett’s Facebook page, on the Lake Orion Review Facebook page and in print and on local television stations – Barnett’s post had more than 750,000 impressions and thousands of “shares” on Facebook since the story broke last Tuesday.
Three of the four suspects – three females and one male, ages 17-21 – went to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Substation in Orion Twp. after learning that their images had been posted on social media, said Lt. Dan Toth, commander of the OCSO substation in Orion Twp.
“We have conducted interviews with three of the four individuals and they have revealed their participation in (the vandalism). They did admit to some of the damage,” Toth said. “The next step is that we’ll review the evidence, sit down with prosecutor’s and we expect a charge (against the suspects).”
The fourth suspect is out of town and the sheriff’s department will speak with that individual when the person returns. One of the four involved in the vandalism is an Orion resident, while the other three are from surrounding areas, Toth said, adding he could not release the identities of the individuals until they are charged.
“We’re glad the people came forward. We don’t want to wreck anyone’s lives, but we want them to be held accountable and an example to be made that this kind of thing is not acceptable,” Barnett said. “The message is out there: people are watching. We do have trail cameras.”
The trail cam image of the suspects carrying cans of spray paint with graffiti on a sign in the background was dated Jan. 4. Toth said that because of the time of year, the trail conditions and weather, no one reported the vandalism until recently.
Sheriff’s deputies then went back through the trail cam images. “Those photographs were instrumental in these folks coming forward. They were very humbled by the experience,” Toth said.
“The law lasts a long time and just because you think that you got away with that damage, the law is still there,” Toth said, adding that the public’s participation in helping identify the suspects helped.
“We will continue to have extra patrols in the area and are asking residents if they see any suspicious activity or persons to call our dispatch center,” Toth said. “Everyone can play a part in this by alerting police and getting us to the scene.”
The dispatch number is 248-858-4911.
The vandalism is happening too often and the costs to repair the frequent damages are rising.
“Dozens, if not hundreds, of hours are spent trying to keep it (the trail) open and welcoming for all. These hours are not free; in fact they are very costly to our residents and taxpayers,” said Barnett.
Barnett contacted The Lake Orion Review and met with local news stations on Feb. 14 to publicly offer a reward of $1,000 to anyone who can identify the vandals.
On Feb. 13, three Department of Public Works employees were sent out to Paint Creek Trail to clean up the spray paint. The removal of the paint took roughly nine hours and the final cost for labor was $1,200.
“It is a waste of resources and we have to get it to stop,” said Barnett. “We have a great resource in the Paint Creek Trail and we want everyone to be able to enjoy it without this type of vandalism.”
For many years there has been an area full of aged concrete slabs covered in graffiti by the water known as “The Rocks” to local residents.
Barnett said he also wants people to know that spray painting this area is unacceptable: rain washes the paint into Paint Creek and leaches chemicals into the stream, polluting it and endangering the trout in the creek.
“We have one of only three trout-producing streams in Southeast Michigan, we don’t want to harm the trout and contaminate Paint Creek. People fish there and the spray paint harms one of our natural resources,” Barnett said.