TEXARKANA, Texas - Police are conducting an investigation into vandalism at Bringle Lake Park after a 17-year-old and some minors allegedly painted images over the weekend, an official said.
The 17-year-old suspect is the son of Felicia Brooks, who contacted media outlets on Monday about concerns she had about the paint being left out at Bringle Lake seeping into the waterway and for animals to potentially gain access to it, said Shawn Vaughn, Texarkana, Texas, Police Department spokesman.
Vaughn said the Bringle Lake Art Park had been a grass roots effort with a lot of people invested in making it a better place by painting.
But sometime between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, someone used the group's paint, brushes, and supplies that had been hidden, but left at the site, to paint a name and an Instagram handle, one pornographic image and couples' names.
"When the group found out their work had been destroyed, a lot of them took on the task of finding out who these people were," Vaughn said Tuesday evening.
Vaughn said Brooks' 17-year-old son, who is classified as an adult because of his age, made a post on his Instagram account that included a picture of the vandalism with his name and Instagram handle.
"They were able to figure out who that was. Through social media, they were able identify him and locate him. There was a post on his account stating they knew he was involved in the vandalism and they were contacting the police," Vaughn said.
As a result, Brooks' son went to the police department and was interviewed. The case has been forwarded to investigators to determine if any charges will be filed, he said.
However, Brooks account of the matter differs from Vaughn's.
While Vaughn said the paint and supplies were hidden, Brooks says otherwise.
"No, they were not hidden," she said.
She said Erin DeBlanc of the city Parks and Recreation Department, left the paint bucket where anyone could use it.
DeBlanc is listed as Erin Rogers on a city website. Her title is communications coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department, according to the website.
She has been instrumental in organzing the Bringle Lake Art project, recruiting volunteers and obtaining sponsors.
"He (Brooks' son) had no idea it was her stuff. He had never been to the park or heard of the park My problem with the whole issue is she is leaving her stuff there for kids to get into, animals to get into, for it to get into the marsh My son did not vandalize or tear anything up no he did not," Brooks said late Tuesday.
Brooks said her son was at Bringle Lake Park about 3 p.m. Saturday and wrote his name on a wall after calling her and asking if he could.
"There's paint buckets down there and the lady in Parks and Recreation (DeBlanc) went and pressed charges on him. He went immediately to the police," she said.
Brooks said it is not stated that the public could not paint.
As far as the pornographic image and vandalism, Brooks said it was her understanding that those images were in the park as early as Thursday - two days before her son visited the park for the first time.
When asked why she did not reveal her son had painted his name at the park when she initially contacted media outlets to voice environmental concerns, she said, "That was not the story I was going for. I wasn't going for vandalism. I'm not saying anything about vandalism because everything down there looks like graffiti to me This vandalism they are talking about was done Thursday," she said.
DeBlanc could not be immediately reached for comment late Tuesday
Paint spilled at the Bringle Lake Art Park is not a threat to the environment, Parks and Recreation Director Robby Robertson said Tuesday.
Parks and Rec staff cleaned up the site Monday, moving the painting supplies to a warehouse. The paint is nontoxic and does not threaten to run into the lake, Robertson said.
On Monday, Brooks took photographs of the scene before it was cleaned. She reported the paint spills to Robertson, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency by telephone.
On Tuesday, Vaughn said those agencies had closed their investigations, finding the complaints without merit.
Parks and Recreation staff cleaned up the site Monday, moving the painting supplies to a warehouse. The paint is nontoxic and does not threaten to run into the lake, Robertson said.
Robertson said the materials should have been stored indoors and will be in the future.
When asked if any staff had been placed on administrative leave as a result of the incident with the paint, Vaughn said he could not comment on any personnel matters.
Volunteers this year transformed the spillway from a site covered with graffiti to a colorful showcase for local artists. The Texas Recreation and Parks Society-North Texas this month recognized the project with an Arts and Humanities Award. The award honors a "project or program that promotes cultural art for example: theatre, culinary, reading, painting, sculpting, drawing, quilting, etc.," according to a news release.