Briefly in the news

-- Deepa Bharath

They call it a regular back-to-school prank. But Costa Mesa Police

Sgt. Dave Walker says it must have been a heavy-duty and expensive

operation.

Vandals, presumably high school students heading back to school,

toilet-papered the intersection of Mesa Verde Drive and Adams Avenue in

Costa Mesa during the wee hours of Tuesday, right from Country Club Road

all the way to the median.

Not even the trees were spared, Walker said.

“They must have used at least a 100 rolls of toilet paper,” he said.

“And they used the expensive kind too, the Charmin triple rolls. I’ve

never seen so much toilet paper in one place.”

The miscreants had also squeezed shaving cream on the street to read

“Class of 2002” and also wrote their first names on a brick wall near

Estancia Park, Walker said.

City crew cleaned up the mess at dawn, he said.

“It could’ve been a traffic hazard,” Walker said. “It’s a nuisance.

People could get distracted by it while driving.”

Some police officers stayed with the cleanup crew to divert traffic

and ensure their safety, he said.

If apprehended, the vandals could be charged with malicious mischief,

fined and ordered to do community service, Walker said.