Two suspects in a string of November graffiti incidents will face their first court date on Jan. 25 after a sharp-eyed detective recognized one of the suspects from video footage.
Wrightsville Beach detective Bonnie Neral said she spotted Ethan Fink, 21, of LaGrange, Ga. by the unique cowboy hat he was wearing in surveillance footage that captured some of the graffiti spraying. He, along with Cody Harvey, 23, of Louisville, Ky., were charged with injury to real property, a misdemeanor. They are scheduled to appear in new Hanover District Court on Jan. 25.
Neral said Fink approached her and made some small talk with the officers after the spray painting occurred on Nov. 21, where Johnnie Mercers Pier, a lifeguard stand and four mailboxes were vandalized. After Neral recognized Fink from the videos, officers made contact the next day with him and Harvey and were able to serve the two visitors warrants before they left town.
“It was a matter of officers working together on it, reviewing footage, a lot of canvassing the area and communicating together well,” Neral said.
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