[reposted with permission]
Cave vandal in jail
In the early morning hours of Thursday July 25 an act of cave vandalism
took place in Pettyjohns Cave Georgia. A group of cavers from New York
were coming out of the far reaches of the cave. When they reached the
top of the breakdown mountain in the big room near the entrance they
encountered a swastika painted in bright orange spray paint. It was not
there when they entered the cave. Nearby there was more paint and more
paint. On their way toward the entrance they encountered two people. A
24 year old man with a spray can in his hand and a young female
accompanying him. The cavers exited the cave and reported the vandalism
to police. The police contacted Ranger Tim Gilbreath who met with the
cavers and gathered as much information as possible. He then went to the
scene but the vandals had left. In addition to the cave vandalism he
discovered the same graffiti at a nearby overlook.
Ranger Gilbreath contacted two members of the Pigeon Mountain Grotto to
assist his investigation by taking photos in the cave of the graffiti.
The graffiti consisted of the two swastikas , the "N" word in one place,
several identical sets of lovers initials a few 'beware' and 'danger'
inscriptions. Criminals are not very smart. The two graffiti artist
filled out a cave card prior to entering the cave so the Ranger had
their names which matched the initials painted on the cave walls. A
quick check on facebook found a photo of the two of them together which
matched the description given by the New York cavers.
Ranger Gilbreath then went to the girls address and interviewed her. The
juvenile confessed to involvement. Next Ranger Gilbreath interviewed the
young man who also admitted involvement. After consulting with the
Walker County District Attorney Ranger Gilbreath obtained warrants for
the young man and filed a juvenile complaint on the young woman. They
are both charged with felony criminal damage to government property,
misdemeanor littering, and the man is charged with failure to obtain
GORP permit. The cave is owned by the state so graffiti in it is a
felony. The man has been arrested and is currently sitting in the Walker
County Jail awaiting a hearing.
On Friday evening after the incident the Pigeon Mountain Grotto held an
'emergency' clean up trip to Pettyjohns to remove all of the offensive
spray paint. Eight members spent about three hours cleaning up the mess
prior to the weekend traffic to the cave. The grotto takes the incident
seriously and will assist the New York cavers in obtaining the NSS
Vandalism Deterrence Reward. There is actually a poster describing the
reward on the kiosk near the cave entrance. Ranger Gilbreath worked
tirelessly to pursue this case to resolution and deserves our heartfelt
thanks for his hard diligent work.
Safe cavin,
Allen Padgett