Police: Teen responsible for graffiti at ball field

BRADFORD — A 16-year-old juvenile has been charged with unlawful mischief after an investigation determined the juvenile was responsible for spray painting the baseball dugouts at the Bradford Youth Sports fields on Doe Meadow Drive in Bradford with “inappropriate” symbols and sexual slurs, Bradford Police said in a news release.

The juvenile further admitted that he was behind a similar incident of defacement at the dugouts in the spring of 2023, Bradford Police said.

A juvenile citation was issued to the alleged offender to appear in Orange County court in Chelsea.

The Bradford vandalism is the latest in a recent spate of vandalism incidents at athletic fields in Orange County — with two of them occurring months apart of each other at Oxbow High School in Bradford. 

In July, a security camera caught a vehicle tearing up the athletic fields at Oxbow, which followed a similar vandalism incident at Oxbow’s athletic fields last November when a man was charged with using his vehicle to tear up the athletic fields. The two incidents have cost the school tens of thousands of dollars in repair costs, officials said.

Also in July, unlawful mischief charges were brought against a juvenile who is accused of vandalizing sports fields with a vehicle at Waits River Valley School in Topsham, Vt.