VENTURA : Police Tackle Rash of Auto Vandalism

Ventura police, who received nearly 40 complaints of vehicle windows that were shot out with BB or pellet guns last weekend, are focusing attention on the form of vandalism usually considered a low priority.

“We’re very aware of it, very concerned about it and we’re going to try to put together a plan of action to see what we can do to stop it,” Ventura Police Capt. Pat Rooney said.

“It could be one person on a motorcycle or a group of kids in one car or a group of cars,” Rooney said. “We won’t know until we catch them. We’re hopeful with the numbers that they’re doing, someone’s going to see them.”

Police reports show that 13 people reported vandalized windows late last Friday night or early last Saturday, and 24 people reported suffering the vandalism late Saturday night or early Sunday. In almost all cases, the rear or driver’s side windows were shot out while the vehicles were parked in the street.

Santa Paula police also are investigating a rash of pellet or BB gun vandalism against car windows last weekend, they reported.

Rooney said Ventura police had previously noticed an increase in air-gun window vandalism in the city over the past few weeks, but nothing like the number of cases reported Saturday and Sunday.

The rising level of vandalism was no surprise to John Timmons, who told police the rear window of his 1991 Dodge Van was broken by a BB or pellet Friday night, less than a week after the last time it was shot.

Timmons said it cost $350 to repair the window the first time, and all but $100 was covered by insurance. The second incident will cost the same amount to repair, he said.

“I was very upset with the first incident and with the second one I was just resigned to it,” he said. “I realized that there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Still, Timmons said he slept in the van Saturday and Sunday nights, keys in the ignition, hoping the vandals would strike again. He said he would have chased them, written down their license plate number and given it to police.

No vandals showed up, Timmons said. But he and his wife are thinking of forming a neighborhood watch group with neighbors whose windows also have been vandalized.