By Julie Manganis
Staff writer
May 09, 2008 05:44 am SALEM — Three teens are facing vandalism charges after security cameras captured them scrawling graffiti tags on the back of the Yin Yu Tang house late Wednesday night, police say. It's the third time the 200-year-old historic building, which was dismantled in China and then painstakingly reassembled behind the Peabody Essex Museum, has been marked by graffiti, and the second time since March. "It's a really special place," said April Swieconek, public relations manager for the museum. "It's really hard for us to understand why someone would do this." William Brewster, 17, of Lynn and two juveniles are being charged, said Salem Patrolman Dennis King from the department's Community Impact Unit. Security cameras picked up the teens as they marked the outside of the house with their "monikers," names they are known by to other graffiti vandals. Police caught up with the teens as they walked near the museum. They found the two red paint pens used by the vandals in nearby bushes. Police also charged a girl who was with the group with being disorderly after she began yelling at officers. King said additional charges are expected as a result of other painted marks on the rear of a building at 20 Central St. — the former Salem police station, which is now a luxury condominium building — and on the front of a business at 6 Front St. King said if such vandalism is not removed promptly, it can serve as a challenge to other graffiti vandals who want to make their own marks. It also can cause visitors to a business to have a less favorable impression of an area. Swieconek said the paint was removed early yesterday morning. But removing and repairing such damage can be costly, because it must be done carefully, given the age and construction materials used on the house. Brewster, an unemployed high school dropout, pleaded not guilty to charges that also include wanton and malicious destruction of property and tagging during his arraignment in Salem District Court and was released yesterday afternoon after posting $1,500 cash bail. Judge Robert Cornetta ordered Brewster to stay at least 500 feet from the museum, to not possess any paint or markers "of any kind," and to submit to random drug and alcohol tests. Two juveniles were expected to be arraigned in Salem Juvenile Court yesterday, as well. Because they are juveniles, the proceedings are not public. Besides King, officers involved in the arrest include Patrolmen Robert Phelan, Victor Ruiz, Barry Driscoll, Robert Cunningham and Jonathan Bedard and Sgt. Harry Rocheville.
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