NORFOLK, Va. — A 23-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a string of graffiti vandalism along North Military Highway in Norfolk, where four damaged highway signs have now been removed.
Norfolk Police said Maximilian C. Johnson, 23, is charged with seven counts of vandalism and four counts of damaging public property. Johnson was released on bond.
The arrest comes after graffiti appeared on street signs and several businesses along the North Military Highway corridor.
See previous coverage: Signs on Military Highway in Norfolk tagged with graffiti
News 3 went back to the area Thursday and found the four vandalized signs had been taken down.
Police said they received multiple reports Sept. 8 of graffiti at businesses and street signs in the 800 to 1100 blocks of North Military Highway.
The vandalism stretched across several locations along the busy corridor. In addition to the four street signs, police said graffiti was found at the Chipotle at 1087 N. Military Highway, Lowe's at 1081 N. Military Highway and Northern Tool at 1120 N. Military Highway.
Detectives reviewed surveillance video during their investigation and determined the incidents were connected, according to police.
The vandalism initially drew attention because of the location of some of the graffiti. Several of the highway signs are elevated above the roadway near the intersection of Military Highway and Virginia Beach Boulevard. News 3 previously reported that signs on both sides of the road had been tagged.
The graffiti also raised questions about how the city would remove it — and how much that work would ultimately cost taxpayers.
City spokesperson Kelly Straub previously told News 3 that the age of the signs made simply cleaning off the graffiti difficult. The cleaning solution typically used could cause additional damage, so the city's Traffic Operations team planned to cover the graffiti while a contractor was scheduled to remove the four signs.
The estimated cost to remove the signs was approximately $20,000, according to the city. That figure does not include the cost of replacing them, and the city did not have a replacement total when it initially provided the estimate.
As of Thursday, all four vandalized signs had been removed.
No one from the city was available for an on-camera interview with News 3 Thursday, but a spokesperson provided additional information about what happens next.
The city said it still does not have a total cost for replacing the signs and plans to seek restitution for the damage.
Police have not released additional details about what led investigators to Johnson beyond saying detectives reviewed surveillance footage and determined the incidents were related.
Johnson has been released on bond as the charges against him move through the court system.
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