Dauphin County detectives have arrested a Steelton man in connection to nearly a dozen incidents of vandalism in Harrisburg, Susquehanna Township and Swatara Township.
Joshua Bartels, 24, of Steelton was arraigned Tuesday evening on charges of criminal mischief and institutional vandalism for at least one case, CID Chief John Goshert said. Detectives are planning to file further charges in relation to 10-12 other cases on Wednesday.
Since Monday, graffiti has been spotted at several locations including the Dauphin County Courthouse, Dauphin County Adult Probation, Metro Bank and Susquehanna Township Middle School. In each incident, the suspect spray-painted the phrase "$LAVE."
Goshert said detectives took Bartels into custody Tuesday afternoon shortly after he showed up in the lobby of abc27, presenting a handwritten note to the receptionist that stated, in part:
"God is not pleased you are all $laves to $. $laves to $atan."
According to Goshert, Bartels was cooperative during the arrest.
"We want to thank abc27 for calling in the description (of Bartels) and providing us with the note," Goshert said. "That helped us determine his location so we could take him into custody."
He was also charged for a similar incident in Lemoyne Borough in August.