SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WSVN) – A man accused of urinating on multiple U.S. flags at a veterans cemetery in Massachusetts turned himself into police after a photo of the suspect began spreading on social media.
The Boston Globe reports Michael C. Lacey turned himself in at Somerville District Court Wednesday after a witness at the cemetery said he saw the suspect unzip his pants and relieve himself on the flags in broad daylight on September 10.
George Gatteny says he was stopped behind a bus when he saw two people near a memorial statue in the Somerville Veterans Memorial Cemetery, including Lacey.
“He undid his pants, took himself out and started urinating on the flags,” he told 7News.
Gatteny, shocked by what he was witnessing, got out of his car and confronted the man. He says the suspect laughed in his face and walked off with a woman.
An outraged Gatteny shared several images of the soaked flags and vandalized statue on social media. The post quickly went viral and police launched an investigation.
According to the Globe, Lacey faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted of destroying an American flag and defacing a veteran’s memorial.
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