Wave of vandalism hits city

These cars were among those damaged last week by vandals.

Another wave of vandalism appears to be striking the Mountain Home area.

Last week at least a dozen vehicles were damaged when their windows were shot out by what police believe may have been a slingshot, based on the stainless steel ball bearing-like projectiles found in and around the vehicles.

Some time between midnight Wednesday night and about 6:30 a.m. last week vandals struck at the Morgan Osgood lot, damaging a dump truck, a company pickup and a front end loader, all of which had their windows shot out.

At least five vehicles at the old Integrity car lot at the end of Airbase Road also were damaged at about the same time.

In addition, two vehicles near Ponderosa Glass had their windows damaged and a private vehicle on South Fifth West Street also was damaged by vandals. In several cases it appeared the vehicles also were burglarized.

Mountain Home Auto Ranch also reported nine vehicles on its car lot had been damaged by key scratches last week.

"The cost in insurance and tax dollars, that's the biggest thing that bothers me," said Sgt. Rick Viola of the Mountain Home Police Department. "That money could be better spent on other things."

Viola said the incidents appeared to be "targets of opportunity" rather than a planned attack on vehicles.

But, he said, citizens need to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activities to police. He urged citizens to become involved in the Citizens Against Vandalism program and to "step forward and stop vandalism." He said the newly formed organization needs someone to direct it and help with fundraising efforts.

He asked that anyone who had any information about the incidents, or other vandalism incidents that have occurred recently, to call police.

Last year, a wave of vandalism during the summer was halted when police made several arrests. Almost all of the suspects in those cases were young adults, not juveniles.

"Now it looks like things are starting up again," Viola said.

During the past week, more than 30 cases of vandalism of one kind or another were reported to police.

"But if people see something that doesn't look right, or they hear something, they should call us. Usually, people who do things like this talk to other people about doing these stupid things.

"We want to stop this as quickly as we can." A dollar value of the damage has not been determined.