Bristol Police have arrested one of two men they believe placed Nazi-themed stickers on signs downtown last month. Chase Gilroy, age 26, of Warwick, was taken into custody this morning after turning himself in on a warrant at the Bristol police station.
Mr. Gilroy was processed at the station, then brought to Sixth District Court in Providence and arraigned on two charges: vandalism and conspiracy to commit vandalism. He was released on personnel recognizance and is scheduled to appear for pre-trial on June 18.
Bristol Police began investigating the case on Saturday, April 24, after someone notified them they had found a sticker with discriminatory connotation on the exterior of a window at the Rogers Free Library on Hope Street. That person removed the sticker before calling. A short time later, a second sticker was found on a mailbox outside of the Bristol Police Office.
A comprehensive investigation by Bristol Police detectives, led by Lieutenant Julie Veader,
immediately began. Officers fanned out and inspected locations throughout the downtown district. They found four additional stickers, affixed to signs near Independence Park. The stickers proclaim “White Boy Summer,” overlaying a photo of white males wearing uniforms with swastikas and saluting Nazi-style.
All stickers that were located were removed by detectives and preserved for future forensic analysis. Additionally, detectives canvassed the area for video surveillance. They found footage of two men placing stickers throughout the downtown area, including Independence Park.
One of the men was observed to be wearing black military boots, light-colored jeans, a white t-shirt, and
a black coat with several unknown patches on it. The second male depicted in the video was observed
to be wearing light-colored pants and a dark long sleeve shirt or sweater. They were seen on video placing the stickers seized by police in various locations in the downtown area.
Bristol Police then turned to the public for help. They released photographs and parts of the surveillance video of the men to the media in hopes that someone could assist police in identifying the perpetrators.
As information began to develop, Detective Adam Clifford and Detective John Nappi began expanding their pursuit to identify suspects beyond the East Bay area. On April 27, Detective Clifford brought the stickers seized by police to the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory for forensic analysis. A few days later, the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory confirmed that it had found latent fingerprints on the sticky side of three of the stickers. They determined the prints belong to Mr. Gilroy.
In release a statement about the arrest, Bristol Police Chief Kevin Lynch commended the hard work and persistence of the Bristol Police Detective Division in their relentless pursuit to resolve the case.
Capt. Brian Burke said Mr. Gilroy refused to answer questions from detectives, but they are working to identify the second suspect in the case.