UNION COUNTY, Fla. – A man accused of purposely damaging a new gate at a Union County park on April 11 has been arrested, according to the Union County Sheriff's Office.
Nicholas John Orenchak, 20, has been charged with felony criminal mischief and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage. He remains in jail under a $10,000 bond.
His 2003 Buick was impounded as evidence.
According to deputies, surveillance video showed Orenchak using a gold/tan colored sedan to ram the gate at Chastain-Seay Park in Worthington Springs on April 11 shortly before midnight, breaking the hydraulic arms.
He left the area going northbound on State Road 121.
The sheriff's office posted the surveillance video to its Facebook page asking for help to identify the driver. It received more than 89,000 views in a week's time, making it the most-viewed post ever on the sheriff's office Facebook page.
Evidence technicians in Jacksonville helped the sheriff's office clean up the video and enhance features that were not immediately visible on the car or the driver.
On April 20, Union County deputies spotted a gold-colored sedan matching the description of the one seen in the video, and a suspect, later identified as Orenchak, was questioned numerous times over a two-day follow-up investigation. He was arrested after making a confession of hitting and causing damage to the gate at Chastain-Seay park, deputies said.
Deputies said Orenchak will also face additional charges of criminal mischief and leaving the scene of an accident for an unrelated crime that they have been working that occurred on April 19.