C’hurst yeshiva student arrested in graffiti case

A senior at an alternative yeshiva high school in Cedarhurst was arrested Thursday for at least eight incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti at Long Island Rail Road stations in the Five Towns.

The 18-year-old, a resident of Far Rockaway enrolled at Priority-1: Torah Academy of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, was charged with eight counts of felony criminal mischief-third degree as a hate crime, eight counts of criminal mischief-fourth degree and eight counts of making graffiti, both of which are Class A misdemeanors.

Police said the suspect admitted that on eight occasions since December 2012, he used a black marker to deface advertising billboards on LIRR station platforms. The graffiti usually included expletives.

The arrest resulted from the joint efforts of the Nassau County Police Department and Metropolitan Transit Authority Police. “Thanks to the work of the men and women of the Nassau County Police Department and MTA Police, a suspect who is responsible for many anti-Semitic crimes in our community was apprehended,” said County Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence).

Investigators had documented 11 incidents of the graffiti since December 2012, including eight at the Cedarhurst station, three at Lawrence and one at Hewlett. The MTA Police said their investigation of the other three incidents is continuing.

“Thank you to all who were involved in finding and apprehending this suspect,” Cedarhurst resident Jeffrey Leb posted on Facebook Thursday night. “It is only with the combined efforts of many that we were able to catch this criminal.”

Leb had documented incidents of the graffiti since last October and that prompted stories last November in The Jewish Star [LIRR vandals triple attacks in Five Towns] and Nassau Herald. A follow up story [Cops, MTA eye bias in 5 Towns] was published this Thursday.

Nassau County Crime Stoppers issued a wanted poster last month that offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible. The posters were distributed at local train stations by members of the county’s Police Explorers, a volunteer youth group whose members are preparing for careers in law enforcement.