Two juveniles arrested for Gates Street graffiti

By Elizabeth Dinan
edinan@seacoastonline.com


PORTSMOUTH — Three months after a half-dozen homes and 16 cars were vandalized during a graffiti blitz in the historic Gates Street neighborhood, police believe they’ve caught the culprits.

On Tuesday, Portsmouth Police Capt. Janet Champlin announced the arrest of two minors on numerous counts of criminal mischief, alleging they are responsible for an undetermined amount of damage caused by the area being vandalized with gold spray paint. Because the alleged offenders are juveniles, their names are not being released and they will be processed through the local district court’s confidential juvenile division.

By Tuesday afternoon, police detectives were distributing flyers in the neighborhood asking residents whose property was damaged to submit estimates for repairs in an effort to seek restitution. Police are asking residents to send written damage estimates, or bills, to Sgt. Michael Schwartz in care of the police department at 3 Junkins Ave.