Cedar Rapids police: 75 vandalism victims have come forward

CEDAR RAPIDS - CEDAR RAPIDS - David Duggan walked out of his Underwood Avenue home Thursday morning to discover his driver's side mirror damaged on his car.

Figuring he was sideswipped overnight, it wasn't until later that day that Duggan learned he was one of dozens of victims of an overnight vandalism rampage.

On Friday, Cedar Rapids police said roughly 75 people had come forward to report damage to their vehicles.

For instance, the first four vehicles parked on Atwood Drive - just around the corner from Duggan - all had damaged or missing side mirrors. Duggan said he's both upset and annoyed by the damage to his car.

'Some of it is ‘kids being kids,'” he said. 'But, these kids don't have any respect for anyone else's property.”

Now, the police department is asking anyone who has street-facing surveillance cameras in their home to come forward with footage. Specifically, police are looking for footage of a dark colored 4-door car seen between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. on Oct. 22. Police said the areas where the criminal mischief has been reported include: Harbet Avenue NW, Gordon Avenue NW, Eastview Drive NW, First Avenue NW (5000 block and higher), Owen Street NW, Moose Drive NW, Atwood Drive NW, Cherry Hill Road NW, Elder Lane NW, Sunrise Drive NW, Crestridge Drive NW, Plainview Drive NW, Underwood Avenue SW, Terrazzo Drive NW, Greenbriar Lane NW, Mount Clair Drive NW, Rockvalley Lane NW, Orchard Drive NW, Sandhurst Drive NW, and M Avenue NW.

Austin Losey was another victim. He said he didn't realize his car had been damaged until he came back to his Eastview Drive residence after taking his brother to high school in a different vehicle. Then he noticed his sideview mirror hanging by it's wiring.

'I kind of freaked out,” Losey said. 'I got really made about it.”

Losey said the car that was damaged wasn't running, but he had planned on taking it to an auto shop earlier this week to get the engine fixed. Had he done that, the car likely wouldn't have been left in the street, he said.

Losey guessed the suspects were looking for a quick thrill, but said the consequences of their actions would likely outweigh any fun they had.

'It's just a boneheaded thing to do,” he said.

Anyone with information on the criminal mischief is asked to call officer Spencer Watts at 286-5454, ext. 1050 or email him at s.watts@cedar-rapids.org.