The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 9, 2009

Graffiti case wrapped up

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — An investigation into a rash of graffiti incidents reported on June 26 has been wrapped up with the arrest of the last suspect Wednesday.

Kasey Alan Shaffer, 18, was arrested without incident at his home in rural Mapleton Wednesday, said Det. Cmdr. Matt DuRose of the Mankato Police Department. Joseph Jay Waltz, 19, was already in custody. Two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old boy are also facing felony charges.

A downtown surveillance camera system and the work of officer Tom Rother, a Mankato school liaison officer, are being credited for bringing a quick end to the investigation. Both played a key role in identifying the five suspects after several places in Mankato and North Mankato — including a church, monuments and several public buildings — were painted with profane words and pictures, DuRose said.

Rother was able to identify one of the suspects, then use the rapport he has built with students and the hard evidence provided by the video to pull everything together.

“His skills and his position as a police liaison officer definitely helped in this case,” DuRose said.

The rough estimate of what it cost to clean up the damages in Mankato alone are around $4,000, DuRose said. The buffalo sculpture at Mankato’s Reconciliation Park received the worst damage and had to be completely sand blasted by its creator, Tom Miller.

Blue Earth County’s Nichols Office Building, the Blue Earth County Library, the downtown KFC restaurant and a parked motorcycle also were damaged in Mankato.

In North Mankato, Holy Rosary Catholic Church, a World War II monument and bandstand in Wheeler Park, Garfield School and private property painted. The results of the investigation completed by Mankato investigators will be turned over to North Mankato police for possible charges in Nicollet County, DuRose said.

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