Police Want to Squash Vandalism Spree Before it Goes Further

Vandalism comes and goes in waves. It's a sentiment that Det. Scott Park expressed two years ago during an investigation into a graffiti spree that struck neighborhoods around Baboosic Lake, and one he repeated on Friday afternoon talking about a recent chain of BB gun shootings in a nearby part of town.

Merrimack Police first reached out for the public's help last week after the original calls came in of two cars whose back windshields were shot out by pellet or BB guns on Thursday, Feb. 28.

The reports came in from Joppa and Bean roads, and the damage occurred sometime in the afternoon, not long after school let out for the day.

Park said since then they've had two more reports, one of another car hit and one of a picture window in a house on nearby Turkey Hill and Baboosic Lake roads.

It's a situation they call “very dangerous” and “costly” for the residents of Merrimack.

Right now, the department has no leads, but they do have a good idea of what they are looking for.

Park said it appears the gun has been fired from a moving vehicle.

History shows that in cases like this, they are generally looking for older teenagers, he added, and there will be at least two in the car.

“I don't think we're looking for a 35-year-old guy with his wife and dog in the car,” Park said.

The last time the department investigated a BB gun spree was about 10 years ago. The vandals left a path of destruction to the tune of $60,000. At this point, his estimate is that about $2,000 in damage has been done and the department would like to nip this in the bud before it goes any farther.

“It's not a lot (in damage) right now, however these roll up quick,” Park said.

In a press release sent Friday, Park said these types of damage reports can result in significant money out of pocket, increase in insurance claims and a great deal of personal inconvenience to the victims. Those persons apprehended for these crimes will be charged accordingly, and the dollar value and act within itself can quickly be classified as a felony, resulting in stiff fines, restitution to victims, loss of driver’s license and possible jail or state prison time.

“What happens with criminal mischief, if it was predisposed or there was intent, it becomes a class B felony,” Park said. “We had three kids 10 years ago, they did prison time, not jail, but prison time. We don't like to see that.”

Park said he hopes that publicizing the issue will make someone think twice about something they've seen and help bring the department some leads, or, at the very least, the people responsible will see that police won't tolerate it, and the incidents will stop.

His other hope is that will school resuming on Monday, perhaps kids will talk.

“I swear we get more information when school is in session because the kids are all together,” Park said.

Merrimack Police are encouraging anyone with information to call detectives, at 424-3774, Park can be reached at 424-1818. Tipsters can remain anonymous by using the Crime-Line at 424-2424, or by logging onto www.merrimackpd.org, and click on the Crimeline Web Tips link to send anonymous and secured information to investigators.