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Vandals use motor oil in spree |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
 Motor oil was poured in this backyard swimming pool, located at 525 W. Plymouth St. Owner Shelly Ritchie said clean-up took “several days” using pigskin and dish soap. Pilot Photo/Holly Heller
By Holly Heller Staff Writer
BREMEN — Individual reports of criminal mischief or vandalism are fairly common at the Bremen Police Department.
But a spree of destruction like the one that happened in the early morning hours of Sept. 24 is a little more unusual.
“We get a lot of different cases where people target other people, but not when there’s a large group of people like this. It happens, but it doesn’t happen a lot,” said Officer Jason Bailey.
On that morning, multiple cases of vandalism were reported in the alley that runs parallel between West Plymouth Street and West North Street, between North Indiana and North Montgomery.
“Eight vehicles had motor oil poured all over them, one was a church bus. Two garages got slimed and one swimming pool,” Officer Bailey said.
While the department had no solid leads at press time, the officers have their own ideas of the likely culprits.
“I’m assuming it’s kids,” Bailey said. “I’m not saying it is. That’s just an assumption. But it’s hard to believe an adult would take the time to do all that. But it’s possible.”
Shelly Ritchie, 525 W. Plymouth St., was not happy when she found motor oil had been poured in her backyard swimming pool.
“I was mad,” she said. “You kind of wonder. You figure it was kids. You’d almost assume it’s kids. But where are the parents this time of night?”
In addition to the vandalism to her pool, motor oil was poured over several outdoor toys and her family’s lawn tractor.
“I want people to be aware of what’s going on. Pay a little more attention. If parents would get stricter, that would be a huge plus,” she said.
“It’s just frustrating.”
Just across the street, in the parking lot of Bremen Bible Church, motor oil was poured all over a bus owned by the Bremen Bible Class Association. The bus is used to transport Bremen Elementary-Middle School students in first through fifth grades to Bremen Church of the Brethren. Through the voluntary program, students receive 20 minutes of Bible instruction each week during the school year.
“The kids learn a little something about scripture,” explained Pastor Tom Hostetler, president of the Bremen Bible Class Association. “It’s a wonderful resource.”
He was surprised by the phone call from police, letting him know about the vandalism.
“My concern that it was somehow singled out, that the class was a target. Then I learned that it was a part of other vandalism that had occurred in town,” he said.
“My honest reaction was, ‘Boy if kids are going to vandalize something why would they use motor oil, that’s pretty expensive! Of all the things to use.’”
According to Officer Bailey, the motor oil was taken from one of the residences in the area of the crimes.
On the morning of the motor oil vandalism, several other reports were made of a different kind of vandalism on the other side of town.
“In another part of town there were a couple calls that some vehicles had mustard and chocolate poured on them. Those were more on south east end of town.”
Anyone with information on these criminal mischief crimes is asked to contact the Bremen Police Department at 574-546-3456.
The punishment for criminal mischief is a Class B misdemeanor, which translates into a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail or a maximum fine of $1,000.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 October 2007 )
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