A district judge agreed Monday to reduce two felony charges to misdemeanors against a Butler man for his alleged role in spray-painting graffiti at a park earlier this month.

Dane Smith, 23, of Butler now faces misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and conspiracy after Smith's lawyer, Stephen Misko, spoke with the arresting Butler City Police officer Monday at District Judge William Fullerton's courtroom. Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon said he agreed to the reduction after assessing that Smith's alleged role in damaging Father Marinaro Park amounted to $1,000 to $5,000, a range that only calls for misdemeanor charges.

Smith waived to the reduced charges, and his case will now move to Common Pleas Court.

Police said Smith vandalized the skate park on Aug. 9 with Kyle Young, 19, of Evans City and a 15-year-old city boy.

Police reported that damage was made to the buildings, fence and fence posts, wooden ramps and concrete work. Young is being sought after failing to appear in court. Both adults were interviewed at the station, and each admitted he “was responsible for some of the graffiti,” according to charging documents.

From photos, the men allegedly identified for police the areas they spray-painted. They also allegedly acknowledged the boy was with them on the night of the vandalism, and they identified the areas the youth painted.

Police in court Monday said they didn't know the status of the minor's case.

The amount of damage was originally recorded as $16,827, according to the repair cost received by the city's parks department. But Simon said that total shouldn't be blamed on Smith and his co-defendants because the city's calculation includes previous graffiti spray-painting that was done before the August incident.

Fullerton released Smith on his own recognizance and, according to Simon, Smith agreed to pay restitution for some of the damages to the park.