CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — A Cherry Hill man was arrested after Camden County police say he was caught on video defacing an abandoned gas station, twice in the same day.
Surveillance video showed someone using spray paint to tag the old gas station on Admiral Wilson Boulevard that the county’s Department of Public Works just cleaned up in October. Lt. Gordon Harvey says they arrested Donald Park III and released him on a summons, only for him to return to the station hours later to finish the job.
“He stated that he had to return to make sure that he highlighted it properly,” said Harvey.
That cost Park. He was arrested and locked up in the county jail and his car was impounded. “We know he has now used this tag on multiple occasions,” he said. “We can tie it, and we’ll go down the list and see what else we can tie to them.”
Christina Wilson of Palmyra was also arrested during the first incident, as police say she was recording video of the artist at work.
Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen says it’s incredibly stupid to leave your signature all over the place. “I don’t understand. You shouldn’t be doing that, period. But I don’t understand the thought processes on it,” he said.
"He just felt like he could do what he wanted to do. ‘Ah, nobody is gonna mess with me. It’s Camden.’ Nah. Things have changed.”
Park faces several charges, including criminal mischief and deviant trespassing. Carstarphen says they will punish both Park and Wilson, as well as anyone else defacing property, to the fullest extent possible.