Videos posted to YouTube showing two teenagers spray-painting graffiti on Ocean County buildings led police to the suspects -- one who happens to be the son of a New Jersey mayor.
Eighteen-year old Kyle Conway, the son of Barnegat Township Mayor Susan McCabe, has been charged with the vandalism spree that accounted for over two weeks of tagging trucks and abandoned buildings.
“Horrified. Mortified and confused, did not understand how he could do this," said McCabe, describing how she felt when she found out her son was accused. “Unfortunately my son made, obviously, very bad decisions,"
Investigators said YouTube videos showed Conway and 19-year-old Johnnie Johnson tagging abandoned buildings with graffiti. While their faces are blurred in the videos, computer crime experts were still able to use the footage to determine their identities, police said.
Conway and Johnson also bragged about their graffiti tagging online, which helped lead to their arrests, authorities said.
One of the victims, Tracy Corcino, had her shop’s truck vandalized in Barnegat Township.
“No matter who it is, he still did it, he has to suffer the consequences," Corcino said. "We can’t get away with things like that."
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McCabe acknowledges her son's role in the crime, but is still searching for a reason behind his behavior.
"He was raised better than this," she said. "He knows better than this. It appears that he may have fallen into the wrong crowd."
Both Conway and Johnson will appear in court for the charges in about two weeks.
