Cops: 'Satanic' Church Defacers Brag On MySpace

WCBSTV.com ^ | May 15, 2007 | AP

[siunevada]

4 Charged With Hate Crime (CBS/AP) MIDDLE ISLAND, N.Y. They defaced a Baptist church with satanic symbols, then bragged about it on the popular MySpace networking Web site, police said.

It wasn't long before four people were charged with a hate crime.

"We tagged the street with spray paint, then drove to the church we passed on the way there and tagged all over it with inverted crosses, pentagrams, and 6's," said the MySpace page allegedly written by one of the four suspects. "It was quite the sight to see."

Suffolk County police said the MySpace boast included images of the graffiti spray painted on the Middle Island Baptist Church last week.

Detective Sgt. Robert Reecks, commanding officer of the Hate Crimes Unit, said Monday that the teens claimed to have been inspired by Satanism. He said they went looking for a wooded area to get a "spiritual feeling" last Tuesday when they came across the church and decided to spray paint it with pentagrams and inverted crosses and such phrases as "Devil is God."

They also drew an arrow on the ground in the direction of the church and wrote, "This way to ignorance," police said.

Charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime were Danielle Wilbur, of Central Islip, Daniel Drasser, of Port Jefferson Station, John Santariello, all 19, and Santariello's brother, William, 22, both of Farmingville. They all pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Saturday in First District Court in Central Islip.

[siunevada]

We bad.

And smart, too.

[wideawake]

They are described as "teens" which makes people think of high schoolers.

They were all adults and not all were teens.

Sick losers.

[Bigh4u2]

“Hate Crimes Unit”

Hate crimes have their own ‘unit’ now?

Live in these United States is getting scarier and scarier.

[Bigh4u2]

live = life

[GATOR NAVY]

"This way to ignorance"

Some jokes just write themselves...

[Godzilla]

They also drew an arrow on the ground in the direction of the church and wrote, "This way to ignorance," police said.

I think they had the arrow pointing in the wrong direction.

[chaos_5]

It wasn't long before four people were charged with a hate crime.

I am in no way supporting their actions, but charging them with a "hate crime" is outrageous. Defacing property is already illegal, and that is what they should be charged with.

[Tijeras_Slim]

All they forgot to do was post a video to YouTube.

[siunevada]

Losers.

Danielle Wilbur and William Santariello, alleged devil worshippers, spray-painted a church with satanic markings.

After news reports of the vandalism, Suffolk police received dozens of tips about the alleged culprits, including information on the Internet postings.

"Lo and behold, everything we were looking for was right in front of our eyes. ... They pretty much gave us everything we needed on MySpace.com," Reecks said of Santariello's cyberbraggadocio.

Cops nabbed the unemployed Farmingville man,....his pizza-deliverer brother John Santariello, 19,....

[SoCalRight]

I hate Hate Crimes Units.

[wideawake]

the unemployed Farmingville man,....his pizza-deliverer brother

LOL!

Pathetic.

[Teacher317]

Guilty! Get ‘im!

[james500]

Drop the hate crime charge and make them clean up the paint themselves. That’s the reparation part. For the punishment phase, they should have to come in on Saturdays and give the church a new paint job.

[AppyPappy]

Someone will spill the beans and they will have to take a plea bargain. By that time, the media will have moved on and they will just get vandalism.

[antiRepublicrat]

Ten to one they have no idea what Satanism is. They’re just idiots.

While I’d love to see these guys get good jail time (also tell them to buy some paint and repaint the church), my loathing for “hate crimes” also applies here. They’re just vandals.

[Clemenza]

Don't know about now, but Farmingville (where these kids are from) was mullet-and-musclecar land when I was a kid. The ladies had hair the size of a goal post and the locals in general had a rep of not being too bright.

Prosecute these punks for vandalism and trespassing.

[DungeonMaster]

For the punishment phase, they should have to come in on Saturdays and give the church a new paint job.

In their hearts they probably wish someone would make them hear about the Lord because they want to believe.

[I still care]

I don’t know - that picture is pretty creepy. Have you ever noticed the empty and strange look serial murderers and satanists all seem to have in their eyes?

I guess there is no one beyond the reach of God, but these two look possessed by evil.

[DungeonMaster]

I thought these two looked pretty normal. I guess I go to too many metal concerts to be impressed with their particular looks.

[I still care]

Look at their eyes.