Long-time neighbor arrested in Town of Niagara hate crime

May 21—A Town of Niagara man has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly spray-painting a threat that included a racial slur on his neighbor's fence.

Friday afternoon, officers with the Town of Niagara Police and investigators from the Niagara County Sheriff's Office arrested Howard J. Murphy, 60, of John Street, and charged him with second-degree criminal mischief-hate crime. The hate crime designation elevates the charge from a D to a C felony and exposes Murphy to a potential maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

Murphy is expected to be arraigned later today. Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman said that Murphy will be released on his own recognizance or "with conditions" because under New York's Bail Reform Law, the charge he faces is no longer "bail eligible."

On Monday, Johnny Parks, Murphy's John Street neighbor, had just picked up his morning coffee at Tim Hortons, around 5:30 a.m., and was heading to work, when he noticed what appeared to be graffiti on the fence that runs along the back of his property.

When Parks took a closer look, he saw that someone had spray-painted "Kill All (racial slur)" on the fence.

Town of Niagara Police and Parks both said that Murphy has lived on John Street for about 30 years. The arrest left Parks in a state of "disbelief."

He said the only time he recalls even speaking to Murphy was about 10 years ago, when his neighbor's dog defecated on his lawn.

"He kinda walked away and I said, 'Are you gonna pick that up?'," Parks said. "But he didn't, so I put up a sign on my lawn that read "No Poop Zone" and he started walking his dog on the other side of the street."

Now Parks wonders if that fleeting encounter sparked the racist message on his fence.

"I mean for someone to carry a grudge that long, we're not bad people here. It's just unreal," he said. "It was just one of those things. But if there's an issue, come see me and we'll work it out. We're neighbors. You don't let that fester."

Filicetti said the investigation of the incident was aided by the New York State Police and agents from the Buffalo Field Office of the FBI.

"The Town of Niagara Police were instrumental in gathering evidence in the early stages of this investigation," the sheriff said.

Town of Niagara Police Lt. Jeff Spears praised the work of Officer Alex Wagner, who was the first to respond to the incident.

Stephen Belongia, special agent-in-charge of the FBI's Buffalo Office, said the case is also being reviewed at the highest levels of the U.S. Department of Justice.

"We'll review all the evidence and all the facts of this incident to determine what the federal response should be," Belongia said. "We take these (kind of) threats as among our highest priorities."

Seaman said the charge against Murphy was the most serious that could be applied.

"This is not a petty charge," the district attorney said. "It is the most serious crime we could charge in this case. It is not a property crime, it is a hate crime."

Filicetti said he spoke to Parks just after Murphy's arrest.

"He was thankful for the efforts of law enforcement," the sheriff said. "There is no place for hate in this community, in the city of Buffalo, in the country."

The incident occurred less than 48 hours after the mass shooting at a Tops market on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo that left 10 people dead and three wounded. Eleven of those victims were Black and investigators have charged that the teenage gunman who committed the shooting was "racially motivated."

Parks, a well-known community member and youth sports referee, who kids call "Coach", said Murphy lives "about four houses down" from his home. He continues to characterize the incident as "isolated."

"Hopefully things go in the right direction. This is an isolated case. Let's move forward," he said. "The police have done their job, now let the courts do theirs."

Because Murphy will be released back into the John Street neighborhood, prosecutors have requested an order of protection for the Parks family. Sources have also said that there will be a "continuing police presence" in the neighborhood.

A GoFundMe page was establish for the family by a friend and Parks said it has raised about $6,000. Parks said the family is thinking about buying doorknob security cameras for all the homes in the neighborhood.

"One of the things that hampered police early in their investigation, was looking for surveillance video," Parks said. "If something like this ever happened again, the (doorknob) cameras will help police."