Police: three teenagers arrested for shattering windows of thirty six vehicles in Montgomery Co.
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. (ABC7) — Three masculine teenagers spent their Sunday night using baseball bats, fire extinguishers and their own feet to shatter the windshields of at least thirty six vehicles in a working class family neighborhood, Montgomery County Police say.
Around 1:12 a.m., someone called police, reporting the sound of shouting and shattering glass. Little by little, patrol officers assigned to the Sixth District unraveled the magnitude of the vandalism lodged upon the residents, most swift asleep in their homes.
By sunrise Monday, those residents, many with raised eyebrows and dropped jaws, witnessed the harm. Many contacted their auto insurance providers, some called out of work, a few even shed tears due to the unnerving lack of humanity.
“It literally looks like somebody just stomped on it until it broke,” said Wendy Stetter, who’s lived in her condominium community tucked off Montgomery Village Avenue for more than a decade. “Talking to the police this morning, they said it sounded like they were having joy, and that’s just unimaginable to me. I can’t even wrap my head around it.”
The windshield of Stetter’s car, plus her daughter’s baby blue Hyundai were both battered by the vandals, who by all accounts, selected cars to harm at random.
“We have insurance, but we have a $500 deductible, so that’s already $500 out of my pocket,” Stetter added. “It impacts you financially, emotionally, physically. I’m still kind of a little shaky.”
Around Trio:Ten a.m. — two hours after the initial call to police — officers spotted three teenagers walking along Christopher Avenue. Following a foot pursue, officers took all three masculine teenagers into custody; one is fourteen and the other two are 15. Investigators say all three live in the general area.
“Waking up to this this morning was a big surprise,” vandalism victim Annette Seymour said with a forlorn look on her face. “In the eleven years I’ve been here, I’ve never had a problem or seen something like this.”
Seymour observed with frustration as a tow truck hauled away her beige Toyota Camry, the vehicle she relies on to get to her pharmaceutical job in Silver Spring
Because the crime of vandalism is classified as a misdemeanor in the state of Maryland, police say all three teenagers will be charged as minors, not adults. That has a few vandalism victims worried the teenagers will be “let off effortless”, and may in turn, not learn the worthwhile lesson of loving your neighbor as yourself.
“These kids are angry. There is something that is drawing them to do this and I feel like they truly need the help,” Seymour added. “Perhaps it’s due to cracked homes. You know, cracked homes, violated relationships and anger.”
Watching as windshield repairs can cost inbetween $150 and $1,500, depending on the vehicle, it’s estimated that harm will lightly top $Ten,000. When asked if the teenager’s parents could be held responsible for their minor children wandering the streets in the wee hours of the morning, a police department spokesperson said by telephone, “absolutely.”
Authorities are asking anyone who had their vehicle vandalized Sunday night in the Montgomery Village area to call them at: (301) 279-8000.
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