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Crime spree leaves nearly 90 vehicles damaged
by JONATHAN BETZ/ WFAA
WFAA
Posted on July 1, 2012 at 11:08 AM
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CARROLLTON, Texas — With his truck window shattered, Joe McCoy is not only out of a ride, but he's out of a job for the time being.
“I’m very, very angry,” said McCoy, who — as a realtor — relies on his vehicle for his work. He’s been told a new window won’t be available until Tuesday.
“I can’t go out and show clients houses 'til I get it fixed,” he said, pointing to the shattered window. “It’s not safe driving in this condition.”
McCoy's truck was one of dozens hit by vandals in an early morning crime spree that left nearly 90 vehicles damaged across Carrollton in neighborhoods bordered by West Trinity Mills Road, North Josey Lane and Highway 121.
“Something of this amount is quite unusual,” said Carrollton police spokesman Lt. Doug Mitchell.
Dispatchers started receiving 911 calls from angry homeowners around 3 a.m. Saturday reporting their cars had been vandalized.
The damage was easy to find for arriving officers. Cars with shattered windows lined the suburban streets.
Frank Seliga didn’t even realize his daughter’s van had been hit until officers who were responding to a neighbor’s call spotted the damage and woke him up.
“There was glass all over the place and a big hole in the back window,” he said.
Police said the vandals apparently started the night lobbing eggs at parked cars. But as the evening progressed, the men got more aggressive.
“It looks as though they exhausted their supply of eggs,” Lt. Mitchell said.
Surveillance video from one victim's home captured the vandals’ work. It showed at least three men pulling up in a white mid-1990s Toyota Camry with a gold license plate frame.
The men didn't bother getting out of the car; instead, the video shows they simply leaned out the back windows, swinging away at a parked car using what appeared bo be a golf club, investigators said.
As a parting blow, the men often knocked out a side mirror. Each crime lasts just a few seconds.
“It’s just ridiculous... it caused a lot of damage,” said Adrian Resa. His family’s minivan was hit, forcing him to cancel a day of planned of activities with his five kids.
“I’ve got a large family,” he said. “This is the vehicle we use, and I guess they don’t realize that.”
Since so many cars were damaged, police emphasize that the behavior of the men in the Camry has grown beyond petty vandalism. Lt. Mitchell said it is very likely the crime will rise to the level of a third degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
“We want to try and track these folks down and hold them accountable for their behavior,” he said.
As do plenty of their victims, who cursed the crime as they swept out broken glass and opened checkbooks.
“Hopefully, they’ll catch these kids and they’ll pay the price,” said Nick Martin, who spent $135 replacing his truck’s rear window. “I want to be reimbursed.
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