Graffiti

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Milledgeville police are dealing with a different sort of crime in the downtown business district this week.

Uniformed officers and detectives are looking for the person or persons responsible for damage to several signs and business windows. The graffiti happened within the last several days.

The letters, “KEY” were spelled out in several of the cases involving businesses, according to police.

The graffiti vandal, still unknown to police as of Thursday, is also believed to have targeted the Oconee River Greenway. Several government signs were damaged at the park sometime over the weekend.

One of the damaged signs at the park was the one that warns visitors of the river hazard of swift current, flash flooding, underwater obstruction and slippery rocks.

A reader of The Union-Recorder posted photographs on the newspaper’s Facebook page earlier in the week.

Since then, several businesses and a sign out front of a church, have also sustained damages.

One of the first incidents is believed to have happened a week ago.

An employee at Complete Cash Title Pawn, located at 1801 N. Columbia St., told police that someone painted a sign and rear wall of the business.

Five other businesses sustained damages on Wednesday, according to police incident reports.

A police officer saw where someone spray-painted the letters, ”KEY” in pink on the east side of the building that houses Robert Smith Insurance at 110 W. Greene St.

Similar vandalism was reported at Vg’s Clothing at 120 W. Greene St.

Another incident happened to the front window of a building at 125 S. Wayne St. Police did not indicate whether or not that was an active business.

Two earlier incidents — about 10 minutes apart — also were reported Wednesday.

The first was reported about 6:50 a.m. It occurred at Overview Inc. at 120 S. Jefferson St., according to a police incident report.

An employee told a police officer when she got to work she saw that someone had damaged a storage building and the rear wall of the business.

Again, the culprit or culprits used a pink color of spray paint.

The employee said whoever was responsible for the crimes did it sometime after 6 p.m. Tuesday because she saw no such damages there when she left the business that night, according to the police report.

The other incident was reported about 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Someone used pink spray paint to damage a sign in front of Redemption Prayer Center at 220 E. Greene St.

Anyone with information about any of the crimes is asked to call Milledgeville Police Department tip line at 478-414-4413.