Vandals N/A

[markb5900]

Last night while my wife was at work. Someone decided it would be fun to trash her car.
The rear panel, both doors, front fender all kicked in. Hood had rocks "ground" around on it and the roof also.
Should be about $5,000.00 worth of damages to it.
Chances of catching them, probably pretty thin, unless the camera's got a GOOD shot of them. The tapes haven't been reviewed yet.

Even with signs about it being taped and camera's in plain sight this still happened.

Watch you "stuff" and try to keep it locked up so it doesn't happen to you.

Mark B.

 

[SkyHog]

Ugh..

 

[Michael]

Sorry to hear that Mark. Sucks. Even in Missouri. sigh.

 

[glpilot]

SOME PEOPLE, can't live with them, can't shoot them. ;-)

 

[jesse]

Sorry Mark. That's too bad.

Have any pictures to post yet?

 

[markb5900]

Here are some pics

 

[jesse]

I'm willing to bet some of those would pop out and not look too bad. But hopefully you have full coverage to get it fixed right.

 

[jpflys]

SOME PEOPLE, can't live with them, can't shoot them. ;-)

Actually, think you can shoot them, We just need to shoot MORE of them before it sinks in.

 

[markb5900]

Oh yes, insurance will cover it. But not the deductible.

 

[DeeG]

That sucks. B&^%#ds!!!!

Pete and I were at his shop on Sunday afternoon, and got a phone call from a guy who's 25 year old p/u was parked at one of the Sno-parks. He was out at his 'snowmobile-in' cabin when some POS decided to take the tire iron out of the back of his truck, smash the drivers side door glass, the back glass and the windshield. And same useless POS kicked several dents into the truck as well. Poor owner had to drive about 40 miles in the cold and rain with no windshield to get it to the shop. (Pete owns an auto glass place). Nothing was taken, not even the 5- five gallon jerry cans in the bed of the truck (they were full, too). What the hell gets into people?

I talked him into reporting it to the deputies, with any luck someone saw what happened. Doubtful though.

 

[Bill]

Pete and I were at his shop on Sunday afternoon, and got a phone call from a guy who's 25 year old p/u was parked

Probably looked nice, did he take care of it? I don't understand people to just trash things for no reason. I MIGHT be able to understand someone who breaks in to steal something to feed their children, but just mindless destruction???

 

[JRitt]

I view vandals as worse than thieves (not that I rate thieves high on my list). At least thieves are going to get some profit from what they steal. Vandals just want to distroy and cost you mony because they think its fun.

 

[wbarnhill]

I view vandals as worse than thieves (not that I rate thieves high on my list). At least thieves are going to get some profit from what they steal. Vandals just want to distroy and cost you mony because they think its fun.

Precisely. Little jerks.

 

[Frank Browne]

Sorry to hear that. Some people (and I'm being generous) are just plain scumbags that don't deserve the air they breathe. sigh

 

[Bill]

Vandals just want to distroy and cost you mony because they think its fun.

Or is it more? I think they see someone having something nice, and instead of figuring out how they can lift themselves up and have something nice also, they vandallize your things to bring you down to their level.

A sad comment on the human situation in some ways.

 

[Steve]

Well, we caught the vandal that had been tearing up the runway lights at the airport here for several months.

Talk about your basic dumb $@!+. He did himself in spray painting a rival's name on the runway numbers. The ex-girlfriend ratted on him and the investigating officer found the dozen or so glass globes from the runway lights in the back seat of his car, so it was rather hard for him to come up with an alibi. Not sure what the county is going to do restitution-wise.

Sorry to hear about your wife's car, M B.

 

[mikea]

Well, we caught the vandal that had been tearing up the runway lights at the airport here for several months.

Talk about your basic dumb $@!+. He did himself in spray painting a rival's name on the runway numbers. The ex-girlfriend ratted on him and the investigating officer found the dozen or so glass globes from the runway lights in the back seat of his car, so it was rather hard for him to come up with an alibi. Not sure what the county is going to do restitution-wise.

Sorry to hear about your wife's car, M B.

Steve, don't miss the chance to have some fun. Tell the local cops how damage to an airport is a federal offense.

 

[fgcason]

Probably looked nice, did he take care of it? I don't understand people to just trash things for no reason.

The vandalism got so bad at the last rathole, um, apartment, I was at that I went out with steel wool, comet cleaner, water and a coarse rag. Three hours later, my shiny well taken care of car looked like crap. (It should have taken an hour and a half but I had an annoying time delaying hour+ long discussion with the cops about vandalizing my own property) The thefts and vandalism stopped that night. That's all the hooligans wanted. They just wanted me to not own anything that looked nice. That was the last straw...Mr Colt will now be involved in any future discussions of that nature...

 

[DeeG]

Probably looked nice, did he take care of it?

The funny thing is, it didn't look all that great. The bed was a different color than the cab, the dash was cracked, it was a well used work truck. The only reason he brought it was because his 15 year old, well used snowmobile fit in the bed of this truck. What cracks me up is the vandals left 25 gallons of fuel behind........ don't bother damaging the truck, take the fuel and run.......

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

Steve, don't miss the chance to have some fun. Tell the local cops how damage to an airport is a federal offense.

That's right. It's so unusual to catch one of these punks. Give him all the grief available because he deserves much worse and his "associates" will be watching what he goes through.

 

[ejensen]

The funny thing is, it didn't look all that great. The bed was a different color than the cab, the dash was cracked, it was a well used work truck. The only reason he brought it was because his 15 year old, well used snowmobile fit in the bed of this truck. What cracks me up is the vandals left 25 gallons of fuel behind........ don't bother damaging the truck, take the fuel and run.......

Cross country skier or other non-motorized recreationist? There have been 'wars' like this off and on in Colorado.

 

[gkainz]

Cross country skier or other non-motorized recreationist? There have been 'wars' like this off and on in Colorado.

Yeah, you would not believe the glares, sneers and evil looks I get from the skinny skiers when I meet them on the trails while snowmobiling. I've taught my boys to slow to nearly a stop as we pass them, and wave nicely ... very seldom get even a half-hearted wave back ...

 

[Steve]

Oh, they're quite aware of the federalness of the offense, and the fact that there's a specific state law for airport operations area that bumps up the fine/imprisonment for trespassing. I think the bigger issue the officials are considering right now is how much they should screw up this kid's life for the long term for some immature emotionally driven behavior.

Steve, don't miss the chance to have some fun. Tell the local cops how damage to an airport is a federal offense.

 

[markb5900]

Update:
The kid has been caught. NOW it is up to us whether to press charges or not.
I am going to talk to the kid myself and make a decision then as to whether he just pays all expenses or I press charges.

Mark B

 

[Michael]

The only way he will learn is to lock em in jail. IMHO.

 

[KennyFlys]

Update:
The kid has been caught. NOW it is up to us whether to press charges or not.
I am going to talk to the kid myself and make a decision then as to whether he just pays all expenses or I press charges.

Mark B

How old is this kid? The repayment should be to insurance as well. I would include police on the discussion, if possible. Perhaps work something out to include more than money. This is his chance to avoid an arrest record. But if he has any prior arrest, press on.

 

[jesse]

Most likely if he is a minor he'd get a slip on the wrist plus some community service. That's probably what he's going to take versus paying all kinds of money he'll never have and his parents probably don't have either. That's how it would work around here at least.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Most likely if he is a minor he'd get a slip on the wrist plus some community service. That's probably what he's going to take versus paying all kinds of money he'll never have and his parents probably don't have either. That's how it would work around here at least.

Personal experience?

 

[mikea]

The only way he will learn is to lock em in jail. IMHO.

My thought, too.

I just can just imagine the dozen-something time he does it again, he tells his pals, "My Mom/Dad always get me out of it. Haw!"

At the very least hope some judge makes him realize he was steps away from being some guy's close pen friend.

 

[markb5900]

That is why I want to talk to the kid myself before I make the decision about whether to put a felony on his record or not.
"Kids" make mistakes, no reason to put a felony on his record if I feel he is REALLY SORRY for what happened.
If not, he can have nice night in jail! Well at least one till his parents can bail him out.

Mark B.

 

[SkyHog]

Burn him, Mark. Burn him.

 

[SCCutler]

That is why I want to talk to the kid myself before I make the decision about whether to put a felony on his record or not.
"Kids" make mistakes, no reason to put a felony on his record if I feel he is REALLY SORRY for what happened.
If not, he can have nice night in jail! Well at least one till his parents can bail him out.

Mark B.

Mark:

Maybe you can have a chat with the prosecutor and / or judge, see about a creative punishment.. maybe something involving some good, hard public service work around the field. It may be that the opportunity to burn off steam and be around good mentor-grade folks could serve multiple purposes.

edit...

...all, of course, depending upon the outcome of your discussion with the youth.

 

[JRitt]

Community service. Make the punishment fit the crime. Hand wash and wax 50 cars from the police force and yours when the body work is done and the paint cures.

 

[tonycondon]

Mark,
Thanks for giving the kid the benefit of the doubt and talking with him before pressing charges. Fact is that kids do dumb things sometimes. I never pulled any stunts like that, but Im the kind of guy who really beats myself up when I do stuff wrong/break stuff, etc. He may be this way, or he may be an ungrateful punk and needs to be punished.

 

[fgcason]

That is why I want to talk to the kid myself before I make the decision about whether to put a felony on his record or not.
"Kids" make mistakes, no reason to put a felony on his record if I feel he is REALLY SORRY for what happened.

That's downright honorable of you to give him the chance. It might save him a ton of trouble years from now when he grows up mentally. Then again, if he truly deserves the felony, it's self inflicted.

If not, he can have nice night in jail! Well at least one till his parents can bail him out.

One conditional modifier to consider when deciding punishment: Who's he more afraid of? The police/jail or his parents?
(Today it's probably the police, or nobody, but when I was a kid, if you screwed up you'd rather go to jail than face your parents. Jail was punishment. Parents would kill you)

 

[JRitt]

That's downright honorable of you to give him the chance. It might save him a ton of trouble years from now when he grows up mentally. Then again, if he truly deserves the felony, it's self inflicted.



One conditional modifier to consider when deciding punishment: Who's he more afraid of? The police/jail or his parents?
(Today it's probably the police, or nobody, but when I was a kid, if you screwed up you'd rather go to jail than face your parents. Jail was punishment. Parents would kill you)

He would be most afraid of his peers

 

[ScottM]

This will be a good lesson for him. There are consequences for actions. Best he learn now how serious those consequences are before he gets the idea that he will skate through life. Press the charges.

 

[Bill]

Update:
The kid has been caught. NOW it is up to us whether to press charges or not.
I am going to talk to the kid myself and make a decision then as to whether he just pays all expenses or I press charges.

Maybe he will be remorseful, but in some ways this is like betting a hand in poker. He may not cave until the big guns are brought to bear. If it were me, I'd press charges and then see the kid's demeanor. If he starts crapping bricks, bawling like a baby, etc., I'd work with the DA and settle for damages and community service (I like that idea of washing police cars). If he upholds a punk-like swagger, then let him to the wolves.

 

[kevin47881]

Maybe he will be remorseful, but in some ways this is like betting a hand in poker. He may not cave until the big guns are brought to bear. If it were me, I'd press charges and then see the kid's demeanor. If he starts crapping bricks, bawling like a baby, etc., I'd work with the DA and settle for damages and community service (I like that idea of washing police cars). If he upholds a punk-like swagger, then let him to the wolves.

What Bill said.

 

[grattonja]

If he's a juvenile, the likelihood of him seeing any "prison" time (read juvenile detention time) is pretty low unless he already has a career behind him in this stuff.

Where I practice, what he did was a misdemeanor and he would likely get juvenile probation on his conviction. Here, he'd get community service as part of the sentence, and might even be ordered to participate in a Victim Offender Reconciliation type project. Those have proven to be very effective for juveniles, showing then there is affect in the mean stuff they do and putting a face on their actions. It also gives victims some closure and ability to understand that they don't have through the traditional legal system.

I like your idea of talking to the kid before deciding whether to pursue charges. His attitude will tell you alot about whether he has learned something from this or not. If he has learned something, the conviction will not add anything. If he has not learned, then he needs to see a judge and go through the system.

Besides, often you will get your $ faster by working outside the system rather than letting the bureaucracy handle it. The wheels of justice often turn rather slowly.

YMMV of course.

Jim G