RUMFORD – Of the 22 complaints police investigated or responded to Sunday, six involved criminal mischief incidents.

At 6:21 p.m., Sgt. Stacy Carter investigated a complaint that three young boys had broken glass bottles in the yard of a Pine Street resident’s house.

According to Carter’s report, the victim said juvenile mischief has been a long-standing problem in the Pine Street area. Eventually, Carter tracked down the trio, who cleaned up the mess, said Sgt. Tracey Higley.

At 5:50 p.m., a Hillside Avenue resident reported that someone had spray-painted her black lawn jockey statue white, moved it off its base and painted a racial statement on the base.

Black lawn jockey statues were used in the mid-1800s to guide escaping slaves to the Underground Railroad and freedom.

Higley said the Hillside Avenue resident told police similar vandalism had also been done to her sister’s black lawn jockey statue at the sister’s residence in Mexico. Police have no suspects, but Carter is investigating the incident.

At 2:25 p.m., a Cumberland Street resident reported that someone had keyed her van in several places for the second time in a week. Police have a suspect and officer Paul Casey is investigating the complaint.

At 10:40 a.m., a Route 120 resident reported that someone had damaged three solar lights that lined the side of his driveway. Two of the five lights were missing. There are no suspects in the case, which is being investigated by Casey.

At 9:20 a.m., a Gilbert Avenue resident reported that someone had caused $30 damage to seven of 16 flower pots at his home.

“It looked like someone had run by and kicked them over, breaking them,” said investigating officer Casey. There are no suspects.

At 4:30 a.m., while out on patrol, Higley said he discovered that someone had taken flower pots and plants from a Penobscot Street residence and thrown them into the road.

In other police news, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, a man came to the police station, reporting that he’d just been assaulted, Higley said. Casey investigated and subsequently arrested Matthew True, 34, of Waldo Street in Rumford, charging him with terrorizing with a dangerous weapon.

True allegedly “threatened the victim with a knife, saying, ‘I’m going to cut you up like you cut another person’s tires up,” Higley said while reading Casey’s report on the incident.

True was released on $1,500 unsecured bail and is to be arraigned in Rumford District Court on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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