Yarmouth police have issued summonses to three teenagers for alleged misdemeanor criminal mischief and said they believe two of the teens may be connected to a racial slur scrawled on a Yarmouth roadway last weekend.
Police in Freeport and Yarmouth responded to reports of teenagers throwing eggs Tuesday night and developed a description of a vehicle involved, said Yarmouth Police Chief Daniel Gallant.
Yarmouth stopped a vehicle that matched the description, and three teenagers – two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old – were issued summonses alleging criminal mischief. Police withheld the names of the teens because they are minors.
Gallant also declined to say where the teenagers were from, except that they are not from Yarmouth. Gallant said by withholding the teenagers’ hometowns, he hopes more people will be willing to cooperate with police.
Based on interviews and other information obtained through the investigation, two of the teens are believed to have been involved in an incident of racist graffiti on Talbot Road discovered Sunday morning.
In that incident, someone wrote the word “Trump,” drew depictions of male genitalia, and wrote a racial slur for Black people. The slur disturbed residents, who reported it to police.
Gallant said he did not know the motive for the alleged criminal mischief, or why someone may have chosen Talbot Road. It’s also unclear yet whether the racial slur was directed at a particular person, he said.
“We’re working on all of that as we speak,” Gallant said.
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