TANEYTOWN, Md — The words of hate, boldly sprayed in purple paint across the front wall of the Fortune Star Chinese Restaurant, are no longer legible almost two months after the vandal struck here, but the combination of an f-bomb with a derogatory term for their race has left workers here angered and hurt, and many of their customers are sharing in their pain.
"It's got to be devastating, because I think it's the only one in town too,” said
Shaun Slimmer, “Just to be singled out like that. It's just horrible."
In a town of less than 7,000 people, in no time, police suspected who may be behind the graffiti, but it took an anonymous tip before they could arrest 24-year-old Joseph Anthony Nagy.
According to charging documents, Nagy confessed he committed the vandalism after he became sick after eating some carryout food from the restaurant.
He was convinced they had tampered with his meal.
"It's horrible to have something like this happen. I mean especially in a town like this,” said Slimmer, “Their food has always been great since we've moved here. I'm glad they got the guy that did it."
And it appears with Nagy's arrest, police also found the man responsible for a one-man crime spree in his own neighborhood.
Over an eight-week period, Nagy confessed to slashing tires on a dozen or more vehicles along Daisy Drive where he lives.
Nagy said he used a sharpened screwdriver and targeted people's vehicles who he suspected were using drugs, because he didn't think police would do anything about them.
Nagy faces an extensive series of misdemeanor charges after causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damage and has been released from the Carroll County Detention Center after posting a $7,500 bond.
