Sheppton woman charged for spray-painting jersey barrier on railroad property
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - A Reading and Northern Railroad Police vehicle in Mahanoy City in 2017.
MAHANOY CITY – A Sheppton woman is accused of spray-painting jersey barriers on railroad property near East Vine Street in Mahanoy City earlier this year.
Charges were filed Tuesday against Tracy Morey, 52, of 883 Centre Street, by Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad Police for the incident they say happened sometime in April.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Patrolman Angel Brazdzionis, the railroad police force was contacted on July 3 with a report of three men spray-painting rails and other railroad property on the Mahanoy and Shamokin Branch in Mahanoy City.
Brazdzionis patrolled the East Vine Street near the former Mahanoy City railroad station and the active line through town and spotted “Love Me I Love Chris” painted on a jersey barrier used to block the former railroad bed for a spur which once served the Kaier Brewery complex.
Further down the rails near a creek, Brazdzionis told the court that he found “Tracy Chris 4 Ever” painted on a rock near the tracks.
The patrolman began searching Facebook for a Tracy living in the Mahanoy City area and found Morey, who, he said, was shown as being in a relationship with a man named Chris.
He contacted Mahanoy City Borough Police to see if they had a contact number for Morey, to no avail. He then searched for the woman on TruePeopleSearch, which showed Morey had a prior address in Mahanoy City and a current address in Sheppton.
The patrolman visited Morey’s home in Sheppton on July 24, and she wasn’t home. He gave his contact information to Morey’s daughter and received a call later.
Morey, Brazdzionis said, admitted to writing the two spray-paint messages three months prior and the officer visited her home again, where Morey provided a written statement. She was asked if she knew anyone else who was spray-painting in the area, and she said she had seen some people, but didn’t know who they were.
Morey, according to the criminal complaint, painted the messages because “she was feeling happy in he relationship and wanted to express it through the graffiti,” Brazdzionis wrote.
She is facing charges of misdemeanor Railroad Protection, Railroad Vandalism, and Interference with Transportation Facilities, misdemeanor Criminal Mischief, and summary Criminal Trespass.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 28 at Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker’s Shenandoah courtroom.
About Author
