Police accuse two Lake Villa teens of spray painting swastikas, hate speech on Round Lake-area businesses

Two Lake Villa-area teens have been charged with multiple felony hate crimes in connection with antisemitic graffiti sprayed on several Round Lake-area businesses.

Round Lake Beach police were called to the Walmart on Route 83 at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday by an employee who reported some doors on the building had been defaced by spray paint.

Police then determined several businesses on the 2000 block of Route 83 had been spray painted with hate speech and swastikas.

Police said officers spotted David M. Dolan, 18, and Anthony P. Shields, 19, riding bikes near Rollins Road and Hainesville Road and found them in possession of spray paint matching the color of the graffiti.

Dolan and Shields told officers they were responsible for spray painting the businesses, police said in a news release.

"Hate speech like what was displayed Tuesday has no place in Round Lake Beach," Police Chief Wayne Wilde said. "These offenders will be charged to the fullest extent possible for what they did."