Rochester man arrested in vandalism spree at North Main Street graveyard

The Old Town Cemetery on North Main Street near Home Depot; inset Shawn Canney (Old Town Cemetery/courtesy; Canney/Rochester Police photo)

ROCHESTER - A 41-year-old Rochester man is accused of pushing over gravestones and knocking plants off headstones at a local cemetery.
The incident unfolded on March 18 when two motorists driving by the Old Town Cemetery near 280 North Main St. spotted a man walking through the cemetery and vandalizing several grave sites, prompting them to call police.
"When Officers got to the area they located a sole male walking on the outside of the cemetery," Rochester Police Capt. Jeremy Aucoin said today. "The man was identified by the witnesses as the suspect."
The man, identified as Shawn Clayton Canney, was arrested a week later on March 25.
Vandalizing grave sites is a Class B felony, which carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.
On March 27 Canney was also charged with a violation of probation or parole. The Rochester Voice reached out to the Bureau of Prisons, but they were unable to immediately verify the nature of the violation.