“The worst part is waking up every morning with a knot in your stomach, not knowing what you’re going to find,” said Amy, a resident who had both of her cars damaged. “Has he gotten my car, has he gotten another car, has he gotten my neighbor’s car?”
The car vandal was on the loose for almost five months, scratching dozens of cars for several feet along the driver’s side all the way down to the metal, resulting in thousands of dollars of damage.
Neighbors took to Nextdoor to share their stories, where they learned how widespread the vandal’s damage was. One neighbor with surveillance cameras finally caught the suspect in the act and immediately posted the footage to Nextdoor.
“It let the people in the neighborhood know what he looked like. We had no idea before,” said Amy. “It was an outlet to put pictures of this gentleman, and it put everybody on alert.”
Within 24 hours of posting the photos on Nextdoor, neighbors were watching for the man, which led to his arrest. The suspect now faces a charge of criminal mischief, and has at least three other counts of criminal mischief on his record, including one with lengthy prison time.
“It takes a village to catch somebody like that,” Amy said.
As reported by CBS Denver. Header image courtesy of CBS Denver.
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