New Britain police have arrested a suspect in the June vandalism of the Puerto Rican Borinqueneers military monument and said they expect to make more.
Michael Sharpe, 20, of 18 Union St., first-floor, was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree criminal mischief, according to police. He was released on a $500 bond.
Sharpe had been arrested earlier in December on a failure to appear warrant and cooperated with police, providing them with information that led to his arrest for the vandalism, police said.
The vandalism occurred on June 6, when an unknown number of people spray-painted the Beaver Street monument, which honors the U.S. Army’s decorated 65 Infantry Regiment, which was primarily made up of Puerto Rican soldiers and known as the Borinqueneers. The unit served from 1899 through the Korean War and was the last desegregated unit in the Army.
The monument cost $300,000 to build and was paid for with state funding. It was dedicated in April 2018 in a ceremony that included then Gov. Dannel Malloy, Ricky Rossello, the New Britain Latino Coalition of New Britain and Borinqueneer veterans.
Police estimate that cleanup of the vandalism cost about $3,000.
