Vandals go on broken glass spree

Deepa Bharath

Vandals apparently embarked on a window-breaking spree over the

weekend, possibly using baseball bats and BB guns to smash the glass

of homes and cars, officials said Wednesday.

Nine similar incidents were reported between Friday morning and

Sunday night, all involving vandals either hitting a window with a

baseball bat, throwing objects or probably using a pellet or BB gun,

Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney said.

The incidents were not concentrated in one area, but reportedly

occurred all over the city -- Paularino Avenue, Bristol Street,

Sunflower Avenue, Maple Avenue, Rose Lane, Monte Vista Avenue, Canary

Drive, Rosemary Place and Labrador Drive. Five of the incidents

involved homes, and four affected vehicles, Birney said.

The vandals also struck at different times of day, Birney said.

One victim in the 100 block of Monte Vista Avenue reported she was

sitting in her living room watching television at about 7:50 p.m.

Saturday when she heard objects being thrown. She was left with two

broken windows.

Another victim reported that he was in his car at the intersection

of Bristol Street and Sunflower Avenue at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday when he heard his rear window break and shatter, police said. Several

reported incidents happened overnight.

Birney said it is “hard to guard against such incidents, where

malicious damage to property is involved.”

“There’s no rhyme or reason to it,” he said. “It’s very natural

for people to be shocked or caught off guard. What do you do when

you’re enjoying a quiet evening at home watching TV and someone just

drives by and breaks your window?”

Birney said that such incidents almost always happen in a “spree.”

“These incidents don’t happen too often,” he said. “But when they

do happen, it’s a string of incidents.”

Birney added that the objects used to vandalize homes or cars were

as varied as baseball bats and BB guns, but “there is a strong

possibility that they could all be related.”

Descriptions of the vandals have also been hard to get because

only two of the victims even came close to catching a glimpse of

anyone, he said.

“We had one description of a male wearing a denim jacket,” Birney

said. “And we had another description of a male wearing dark clothes.

But that’s all we have right now.”

He said any help residents can give in terms of information and

tips will be useful to the police.

“There’s no way to prevent these incidents,” Birney said. “But the

community can definitely watch closely, report anything suspicious

and provide us with information that will help us put an end to these

incidents.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.