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PROVO — Vandals have done a lot of damage to vinyl fences in northeast Provo dating back to November. But, thanks to the help of social media and alert residents, Provo police tracked down several juvenile suspects Friday.
"It's senseless," Sgt. Brian Taylor of Provo Police said of the vandalism. "It communicates a certain disrespect for other people's property."
The vandals busted out the panels on an elderly widow's fence six times over the last few months. Since the beginning of the year, the Provo Police Department has investigated 15 different cases of vinyl fences being vandalized in the northeast part of town. Now, they hope, they've ended this vandalism spree.
"It's just a concern that someone's breaking this fence for fun or pleasure," Taylor said. "And, it's not fun."
A nearby surveillance camera showed how much damage was done the last time the vandals struck the woman's fence.
"This citizen doesn't have hundreds, or thousands of dollars, to repeatedly repair her fence," said Taylor. "There were no real related thefts or understandable cause for the damage. It just appeared to be random criminal mischief."
Neighbors said vandals also knocked over and damaged numerous mailboxes on their street. But, police cannot confirm whether that vandalism is related to the fence damage.
Thursday, police posted pictures of the damage and a plea to the public on their Facebook page. They got results quickly.
"A school resource officer at Timpview High School began getting tips that those suspects were known individuals in the area," Taylor said.
Timpview High School is only a block away from the fence most frequently damaged. The school resource officer interviewed a couple of juvenile suspects, who admitted they were involved, and named several other teenagers the police are rounding up. They potentially face charges of criminal mischief.
"In this case, the Provo police weren't getting it done until we got cooperation from citizens," Taylor said, thanking the tipsters who helped solve the case.
