Vehicles on Roosevelt Avenue and Parkview Street, near Detroit Lakes High School, have been targeted in recent weeks by multiple acts of property damage, according to law enforcement officials.
Students of more than a dozen vehicles over the last week have reported wheel damage, or scratch marks along the vehicle's side panels, or hood, to the Detroit Lakes Police Department, according to Officer Jason Schnathorst, the high school's resource officer.
One student said his vehicle was damaged on May 20 between the time he arrived to school in the morning and about two hours later.
- RELATED: For more news on local crime and courts , check out our Crime and Courts section.
Other students said the vehicle targeting has been going on for about two weeks. They claim it started with rim damage to the wheels and then escalated to scratching the side panels and hoods with some being scratched the whole way around the car.
Schnathost said the issue has been on his radar for the "last week, or so," and began with "nicer" trucks, but then devolved into any vehicle the vandal, or vandals, wanted to target, even vehicles on school grounds in the parking lots.
Additionally, on May 12, multiple vehicles on Parkview Street reported having their side paneling scratched by a sharp object, according to police dispatch reports.
ADVERTISEMENT
The amount of damage, in total, done to all of the vehicles will make the offense a felony, Schnathost said.
Felony damage to property is punishable by up to five years in prison, up to a $10,000 fine, or both, according to the Minnesota state statute .
Police do not have any suspects yet, but have increased patrols in the area and have begun reaching out to local witnesses for more information, including potential doorbell camera video, he said.
If you, or anyone you know, have any information about the series of vehicle vandalism around Detroit Lakes High School, contact the Detroit Lakes Police Department at 218-847-4222.
