3 students charged in spray painting '666', swastikas on church property

A tip from a school resource officer at Piedmont High School in Union County led to the arrest of three students involved in spray painting vandalism cases over the weekend.

The teens, identified by officials as Adam Thomas Clark, Cody Anderson Hedgecoe, and Samantha Tiler Argo, were initially charged in Union County. More vandalism cases were discovered in Lincoln County, leading to additional charges for the trio.

A large LED sign, a parking lot and a trash dumpster at New Vision Ministries Church on Clark's Creek Road were vandalized and spray painted with various symbols, including "666" and swastikas, according to deputies.

In Lincolnton, places including the Old Drug Store, Cycle Social, the Good Neighbor Shop, Trim Barbershop, Lincoln Dental Lab, and Reid Financial Consulting were also vandalized.

Symbols spray painted included anarchy signs, "666," an inverted pentagram, the word "kill" in all caps, and other words and drawings, police say.

The incidents happened in the areas of East Main Street, East Walter Street, and South Academy Street.

Officials also received reports of structures and sidewalks painted at Lincolnton Middle School.

The teens were charged with two misdemeanor counts of injury to real property and one count of misdemeanor conspiracy. Wednesday, the teens were each charged by Lincolnton police with seven counts of injury to real property and seven counts of misdemeanor conspiracy.

Each was issued a $14,000 bond.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-736-8909 or the Lincolnton Police Department at 704-736-8900.

This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 3:16 PM with the headline "3 students charged in spray painting '666', swastikas on church property."