Mayor Pushes For Jail Time For Graffiti Suspects

The Mayor of New Bedford wants to see two Rhode Island men serve a year in jail for defacing and "tagging" sixteen of the city's historic properties with spray paint in October of last year.  Mayor Jon Mitchell has written a letter to District Court Judge Bernadette Sabra, asking that she follow the District Attorney's recommended sentence of one in year jail for Shawn Marrow and Reddick Vaughn, who are both scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.   The Mayor called the incident, "a deliberate assault on the community."

Mitchell told Judge Sabra, New Bedford suffers from an epidemic of graffiti, so a jail sentence in this case is critically important to deter vandalism.  The plea hearing is set for 2pm Tuesday.  A third suspect arrested in the graffiti spree is scheduled for a hearing at a later date.