Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Letters that appear to spell "big gov. big lies" are scrawled in red paint on the rear wall of The Telegraph building. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

NASHUA – Spray-painted graffiti has begun cropping up again on the sides, entrance ways and doors of downtown buildings, raising frustration among property and business owners who almost always must bear the expense of having the scrawls of paint professionally removed.

The recent spate of so-called “tagging” seems to have occurred sometime over the past weekend, and appears to have targeted buildings on the east side of Main Street from Temple Street to the Main Street Bridge.

Police acknowledge receiving a call Monday morning from a representative of The Telegraph, whose parent company, Ogden Newspapers of New Hampshire, owns the two-story office building at 110-130 Main St.

The caller reported graffiti had been scrawled on the entrance way to 120 Main St., as well as on the back and one side of The Telegraph offices.

The building, separated from the rear of the American Legion Coffey Post 3 by a roughly 10-foot-wide alley, was one of the spots targeted by spray-painting vandals during the 2019-20 tagging spree that ultimately affected 11 downtown businesses and City of Nashua properties.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Black graffiti contrasts with the freshly painted white exit door at the rear of the American Legion Coffey Post 3 home. Other scrawls, a mix of old and new, are visible as well. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

On Monday, an inspection of the back side of the Legion building showed numerous “taggings” that appeared to be a mix of old and recent activity.

The freshly-painted exit door that leads to the alley bore new graffiti, its black color contrasting vividly with the white paint on the door.

Scrawls in blue and off-white colors appear on the brick facade on both sides of the door.

Across the alley, on the northeast corner of The Telegraph building, letters that appear to spell “big gov. big lies” are scrawled in bright red paint.

Several feet down the Library Walk toward Main Street, a security door, which has been targeted before, now bears a couple of hearts, arrows and other, random symbols.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Graffiti is scrawled on the entrenceway to 120 Main St., one of several places vandals "tagged" recently. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Meanwhile, the Giant of Siam restaurant, at 90 Main St., was visited over the weekend not by graffiti practioners, but by vandals who did some damage to the restaurant’s outside dining area.

Worapat Ngameharoenthana, an owner of the popular Thai restaurant, said it was just after closing time Saturday when her aunt, who also works there, heard a commotion and looked out to see a group of young people, possibly teenagers, running past the restaurant.

“She said they ran past again,” Worapat said of her aunt, adding that the two eventually discovered overturned and broken flower urns in their outdoor dining area.

There was also some damage to the fencing that lines the dining area, she said. They called police, who came down and took a report.

The timing of the recent spate of tagging and vandalism is coincidental: It was on May 6, 2020, that police began taking complaints from downtown merchants and building owners regarding graffiti appearing on their property.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP What appears to be fresh graffiti contrasts with older, faded scrawls on an exit door at The Telegraph offices at 110 Main St. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Several months later, on Sept. 1, police announced the arrest of Nashua resident Rodney Maulding Jr. in connection with the graffiti.

Because the damage exceeded $1,500, Maulding was charged with a felony-level count of criminal mischief-consolidated, police said at the time.

Maulding’s arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by members of the department’s Problem Oriented Policing Unit and the Criminal Investigation Division, police said.

Court documents aren’t clear as to Maulding’s current status on this case, or several others that were filed between 2006 and 2020. Three cases involve criminal mischief charges in Nashua and Merrimack, while others have to do with drug-related offenses and a probation violation in Nashua.

Anyone who notices evidence of spray-painting, or other types of vandalism on their property is urged to contact police at 594-3500 or the department’s Crime Line at 589-1665.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP A mail storage container in front of 100 Main St. has been a target of "tagging" in the past and just recently. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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