Felony Charges Filed in Roberts Ridge Vandalism Case

Newtown Township Police have charged four people with a felony in conjunction with the extensive vandalism that occurred at Roberts Ridge Park in May.

Police announced Monday they have charged the following individuals in connection with the crime: 18-year-old Max Rosen of Trumbull Court in Newtown Township, 19-year-old Colin O'Neill of Dispatch Drive in Washington Crossing, 20-year-old Jacob Grussenmeyer from Weymouth Place in Northampton Township and a 17-year-old Newtown Township juvenile.

The charges include criminal mischief to a public building, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass, littering and conspiracy to commit each of these charges.

Due to the extent of the damage and the loss suffered by the township, the charges of criminal mischief to a public building and disorderly conduct fall into the felony category.

Township officials have estimated that the cost to repair the damage to the park will be close to $20,000.

The four individuals will be brought before Judge Donald Nasshorn in Newtown Borough today at noon to answer the charges of vandalism.

The vandalism included extensive damage to interior and exterior of the bathrooms. In addition, shingles on the pavilion were ripped off, the contents of the trashcans were dumped throughout the playground and shattered glass was strewn about the park.

During the intensive investigation into the damage to Roberts Ridge Park, township Detective Chris Bush and Officer Danial Bell interviewed several suspects. During their interviews, police said the four individual charged admitted to participating in the destruction of the township-owned park.

Roberts Ridge Park is a 22-acre public park with a large playground structure designed for children ages 2 to 12. The park has a large pavilion with picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles and Bio Sun Systems Composting Restrooms. The restroom is powered by four roof-mounted solar panels used for charging internally kept direct current batteries.

According to police, approximately 29 separate holes were kicked into the four exterior walls of the restroom structure. Three exterior doors were torn from the hinges, and an aluminum gutter was torn from the soffit portion of the structure.

A stainless steel exhaust fan along with the venting pipes were crushed and dented.  The roof-mounted solar panels were cracked and roof shingles were torn from the restroom structure, police said.

Roofing shingles were also torn from the pavilion structure and some picnic tables in the pavilion were bent or otherwise damaged. Benches within the park were bent or otherwise damaged.  Playground equipment, specifically a Little Tikes swing seat and Little Tikes flagpole were completely broken off their bases.  The wooden “Roberts Ridge" sign was broken at its base.

Newtown Township also incurred a rental fee for temporary restroom facility.

Check back to Patch later this afternoon for updates to this story.