Innocent pleas heard in Ludlow graffiti case
Toolbox
Published: October 22, 2009
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Two men denied charges Tuesday that their drunken escapades led them to spray paint graffiti on a neighbor's house in Ludlow.
Michael A Liggett, 20, of Burlington, pleaded innocent in White River Junction District Court to misdemeanor charges of unlawful mischief, providing false information to police and consuming alcohol as a minor. Finn K. Chappell, 21, of Brownfield, Maine, also pleaded innocent to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful mischief.
According to an affidavit filed with the court, around 8:30 a.m. Sept. 6, Ludlow police spoke with a Moon Shadow Drive resident, who said he watched two men walk across his lawn to the property next door and spray paint the house. The resident told police he watched one of the men try to climb up on the roof and fall and hit his head, records state, and both men returned to another house nearby.
Police examined the vandalized house and found obscenities painted on the door and several tags on other parts of the house, all in red and black paint, records state. Police then went to the house where the witness said the men had gone and encountered Liggett and Chappell, who were visibly drunk with red and black paint on their hands and two empty cans of spray paint next to them, also red and black, records state.
Police arrested the two and asked them for breath samples. Liggett had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.316, while Chappell was even drunker with a 0.346, records state.
Oct. 4, Liggett returned to the Ludlow Police Station and said he had provided false identification when he was arrested, affidavits state.
Both men are free on the condition they submit to alcohol testing upon the request of any law enforcement officer.
— Staff reports
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