LOCKLAND, Ohio — A man currently facing a criminal charge for allegedly spray painting circles around potholes in the road was warned before, which is why he was charged this time, according to Village of Lockland officials.
According to a press release from the village, Gregory Strole, who is charged with one count of criminal mischief, "had been warned not to paint Village roadways in the past."
Court documents say that Lockland Maintenance Department reported someone had been using orange spray paint to paint around potholes at East Wyoming and Central, East Wyoming and Williams, along with several at Bacon and Westview.
When police interviewed Strole, he "admitted to using orange spray paint to mark the roadways. Further he advised he did this because he was tired of how long it was taking public works to fill in potholes around the Village."
According to court documents, the spray paint markings were similar in color with markings seen on the sidewalks in front of Strole's home.
Lockland officials said Strole was charged this time because he'd received previous warnings about painting roadways, though the press release did not elaborate on when the previous incident happened or how many times.
What Strole did was vandalism, the village said in its press release, regardless of his intentions. Additionally, officials use specific paint colors as a means of marking underground utilities for crews; in this case, the village said orange paint is used to indicate communication lines and equipment are present, the press release says.
Village officials also said at the time of Strole's alleged spraypainting of the potholes, Lockland was in the process of hiring a new public works director.
"The proper way to express one's frustration (the resident advised that Public Works wasn't doing enough to address the potholes) is to attend a council meeting to discuss the issue or contact the Village Administrator, not take it upon yourself to paint the roadway," reads the press release from Lockland.
The release also goes on to say the village's ability to repair potholes is dependent on weather and the plant from which the village gets its asphalt.
Watch Live:
