Stillwater Police Investigate Acts of Vandalism, Arson on Abercrombie Lane

Stillwater police are investigating two reports of vandalism/arson that occurred this week on Abercrombie Lane.

On Sunday, a resident of the 3800 block of Abercrombie Lane reported that when she went in to retrieve her mail from a group of community mailboxes on Sunday, the mail was burned.

The resident told police the mail was partially burned; and it appeared that the fire had extinguished itself. The burned mail included ads, coupons and bills. The resident told police she doesn’t believe anything was stolen.

The next day police were called to a report of vandalism/arson in the 3500 block of Abercrombie Lane after a resident who was out for a walk noticed a “flickering light” inside of the base of a group of community mailboxes.

When the man got a closer look, he realized there was a small fire in the mailbox unit, the police report states, and he was able to remove the debris and extinguish the fire.

When police arrived, the officer noted some black marks on the wooden insert located beneath the mailboxes that is used for inserting newspapers and other advertising circulars.

The officer also found a partially-burned paper towel roll that had been stuffed with fabric-like material and appears to have been lit on one end and stuffed into the mailbox unit in an attempt to start a fire.

The cases remain under investigation.