PROVIDENCE, R.I. — And they wonder why they weren't invited.

Two men in their 30s and an off-duty Massachusetts correctional officer were arrested Saturday night after, police say, they tried crashing several graduation parties near Providence College. When they were turned away, the men threatened the party-goers and vandalized one of the houses, according to police.

Police started getting complaints just after 9 p.m. about three party crashers causing trouble on Pinehurst Avenue. A half-hour later, a graduate flagged down an officer working a detail for Providence College and said the three strangers tried to get into his party at 63 Pinehurst Ave.

Jarrod Neumann told police that when he refused to let them in, the men got angry — destroying the porch rail, yanking down the rain gutters, and challenging him to fight. They fled when Neumann said he was calling police.

They didn't go far — an officer found them trying to crash yet another party, at 132 Pembroke Ave.

Scott Strom, 30, of Cumberland, was sitting in a red pickup truck blocking traffic as Bryant Lagasse, 32, of 61 Bluff St., East Providence, and Joshua Stein, 23, of 120 Spruce St., Providence, tried to get into the party. As police questioned the men, one of the party-goers told police that Lagasse and Stein had crashed the private family party and refused to leave, according to a police report.

All three were charged with vandalism and disorderly conduct, and they were arraigned at District Court on Wednesday. They pleaded not guilty.

As one of them started to protest, Judge Christine S. Jabour looked disgusted and ordered him to be quiet. She set bail at $1,000 with surety. Sheriffs handcuffed the three and led them away.

Stein is a correctional officer at the MCI-Concord men's medium-security prison, said Christopher Fallon, director of communications for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. Correctional officers are required to report any interaction they have with law enforcement while off-duty, Fallon said.

CORRECTION: The original version of this story had the wrong address for Bryant Lagasse. It also omitted the defendants' not-guilty pleas.

— amilkovi@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7213

On Twitter @AmandaMilkovits