VENTURA : Windows Smashed in Over 80 Cars

More than 80 cars in eastern Ventura had their windows broken over the weekend in what police say is an ongoing vandalism spree.

Every weekend since Halloween, someone has been breaking the windows of vehicles parked on Ventura city streets. However, this past weekend police received the largest number of complaints from victims since the crimes began occurring.

By noon Monday, 87 residents of a wide area of the east end of the city reported having car windows smashed out.

“We have seen this picking up over the last several weeks,” Sgt. Bob Anderson said. “We have a strong suspicion that it is the same person doing this.”

Anderson said the crimes have occurred between 2 and 4:30 a.m., and so far no witnesses have come forward. Police said they believed that the windows had been shot out but that they have not identified what type of weapon is being used to break the windows.

“So far, we have not recovered any BBs or pellets from any of the cars vandalized,” Anderson said.

John C. Schoenherr, 69, on Monday surveyed the damage to his Chevrolet Citation, which was parked in the street in front of his house on Loma Vista Road. The rear window on the driver’s side had been smashed out.

“This is my beat-up car,” he said, as he pulled shards of glass from the car’s window frame. “My good cars are in the garage.”

Around the corner on Donner Avenue, Don Downey, 55, was showing the damage to his daughter’s Pontiac Fiero to a neighbor.

“This is a damn inconvenience,” he said. “She can’t drive it now, and it will probably spend two days in the shop to get fixed.”

Ventura police are offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible.