Police: Two confess to graffiti rampage in Corbin over Memorial Day weekend

Corbin Police say a Woodbine man and a 17-year-old had been drinking prior to damaging Rotary Park, Denes Stadium, a sign on the St. Camillus property, the Corbin Public Library, the Elks Lodge and Sanders Park Saturday morning.

Twenty-two-year-old Joseph Couch and the juvenile, whose name was not released because of his age, were cited to Whitley District Court on multiple charges of criminal mischief.

Corbin Police Colonel David Maiden said he discovered the damage while on patrol about 9 a.m.

Photographs of the damage, along with video surveillance from several of the sites were circulated via social media. Based on that, police received approximately one dozen phone calls with the possible identifications of the individuals.

Maiden said upon further investigation, Couch appeared to be the most likely suspect and he went to Couch’s residence in Woodbine, taking him into custody for questioning.

Couch and the juvenile admitted spray-painting the graffiti, explaining to police who did what.

“His reasoning was that it was a spontaneous decision,” Maiden said of Couch, noting the friends said they had purchased alcohol Friday night and had been drinking when they decided to purchase some spray paint and go on the rampage about 2:30 a.m.

Maiden said Couch was cited to appear in court on charges of first-degree criminal mischief, two counts of second-degree criminal mischief, and one count of third-degree criminal mischief and unlawful transaction with a minor.

The juvenile was charged with first-degree criminal mischief, two counts of second-degree criminal mischief and one count of third-degree criminal mischief.

“I’m pushing for full restitution along with a lot of community service,” Maiden said, noting Couch is scheduled to appear in Whitley District Court in Corbin on Tuesday.

The first-degree criminal mischief is a class D felony, carrying a potential prison sentence of one to five years. The other charges are misdemeanors.

Corbin City Manager Marlon Sams said he and two employees from the Corbin Parks and Recreation Department spent most of the day Sunday working to get the paint off of the monuments, both dugouts and the concession stand at Rotary Park.

Paint has covered the damage at the dugouts and the concession stand. However, Sams said the monuments are a different story.

“We have a monument company looking at it,” Sams said, noting it will likely cost approximately $3,000 in labor and supplies for the paintwork and to repair the monuments.

“I’m still infuriated,” Sams added.

Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Kriebel said the damage at Sanders Park was minimal, limited to the brick of one of the planters at the back of the park.

A tourism employee was able to remove the paint with a wire brush and some graffiti remover.

“It was just one word painted across the planter,” Kriebel said, adding she was happy the police had caught the perpetrators.
“We got lucky.”

Corbin Independent Schools Superintendent Ed McNeil said the graffiti was contained to the back of Denes Stadium.

“Our maintenance folks painted over it Sunday,” McNeil said, noting he did not yet have an estimate of how much it cost the school system.

In addition to the stadium, McNeil said a sign on the former St. Camillus Academy property commemorating the donation that funded the construction of the soccer field was also targeted.

School system employees have removed the sign

“We are working to get it repaired and put back up,” McNeil said.