Bustleton man arrested in playground vandalism

It takes a special kind of lowlife to vandalize a playground made for children and named after a fallen police officer.

But police say someone did just that two weeks ago, and yesterday, they arrested a Bustleton man for allegedly spraypainting graffiti at the Daniel Boyle Playground in Somerton. Nicholas Holland, 19, of Nathaniel Road near Jamison Avenue, was charged with criminal conspiracy, burglary, criminal trespass, institutional vandalism and related offenses.

Police say the playground, on Kelvin Avenue near Napier Street, was vandalized sometime between 4 p.m. Sept. 14 and 8:30 a.m. Sept. 15. The vandal broke into a storage shed on the grounds, stole paint and sprayed graffiti over several pieces of playground equipment, police said. Investigators developed a suspect after publicizing surveillance video of the incident and arrested Holland last night at his home.

It's not the first time the playground has been vandalized.

Boyle, 21, was a rookie with just seven months on the job when he stopped a stolen car and got shot in February 1991. His killer is serving life without parole.