Cops: North Bellmore man arrested on burglary, graffiti charges

A North Bellmore man was arrested Friday afternoon for allegedly spray-painting obscenities and anti-police messages on an elementary school, Nassau County police said.

A group of youths called 911 after they spotted Jacob Guzman, 18, of McKinley Avenue creating the graffiti on the Newbridge Road School on Newbridge Road about 3:15 p.m., police said in a news release.

First Precinct officers responded to the scene and saw the graffiti scrawled on the building, police said. Discarded spray cans were also found nearby.

The officers then headed toward North Bellmore school district’s facilities management building across the schoolyard where an alarm was sounding and found a door had been kicked in, police said. Guzman was found inside and was arrested without a struggle, police said.

Guzman had in his possession at the time of his arrest several sets of keys belonging to the facility as well as a jewelry pin belonging to a building employee and a small amount of marijuana, police said.

An investigation tied Guzman to several prior graffiti incidents where the same words and quotes were found spray painted at businesses and a private home in the Bellmore and North Bellmore area, police said.

Guzman is charged with third-degree burglary, three counts of second degree criminal mischief, four counts of third-degree criminal mischief, four counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief and unlawful possession of marijuana.

He is set to be arraigned on Saturday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Attorney information for Guzman was not immediately available.