NEW BRITAIN — Police in Connecticut have arrested a suspect in the summer vandalism to a military monument that honors a U.S. Army unit formed in Puerto Rico.

New Britain police in a statement Monday said 20-year-old Michael Sharpe was charged last week with first-degree criminal mischief. The New Britain man was freed on $500 bond pending a court date Jan. 2.

The vandalism to the monument that honors the Army's 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, occurred June 6. Someone spray painted it and removed a medallion. The estimated cost of the cleanup was $3,000.

The monument, which cost about $300,000 in state funds to build, was dedicated in April 2018.

Sharpe had been arrested earlier this month on a failure to appear warrant and cooperated with police, providing them with information that led to his arrest for the vandalism, police said.

Police said more arrests are possible.

No defense attorney was listed in court records for the vandalism case.

The unit was founded in Puerto Rico in 1899 and included soldiers segregated from other Army units. The regiment saw action in World War I, World War II and the Korean War, earning numerous decorations including a Medal of Honor and nine Distinguished Service Crosses.