CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Marshall University police on Monday charged a student reporter for allegedly spraying graffiti on several campus buildings.

Tyler Shane Wolfe, 21, wrote a series of stories for the Parthenon student newspaper about a Marshall Police investigation into a string of graffiti incidents on campus. After one story, police identified Wolfe as one of the suspects in the case, Parthenon Faculty Adviser Nerissa Young said.

Wolfe spray-painted "Narc" or "Nark" on Old Main, a freshman dorm and several trashcans around campus, according to a criminal complaint filed in Cabell County Magistrate Court.

Wolfe allegedly defaced the property six months ago, Young said, before he became a student reporter at the Parthenon. He was charged with three misdemeanor counts of destruction of property for the spray painting.

Police also charged Wolfe with misdemeanor counts of obstructing a police officer and conspiracy to damage property.

According to the obstruction charge, Wolfe "used his position as a university reporter to obtain information about the case while at the same time destroying state property himself..."

University officials have not issued a statement about the incident, but they did strip Wolfe of his responsibilities as a resident adviser and ejected him from the dorms, Young said.

Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Tay...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189