PORT HUENEME : $1,000 Offered for Capture of Tire Slasher

Police have offered a reward in the arrest of a vandal who has slashed the tires on a Port Hueneme woman’s vehicles 11 times in the past three months.

Although Phuong (Mai) Graham said her family has been singled out because they are Vietnamese, police say they have no evidence that the slashings are racially motivated.

“You’d think that if it was a hate crime, there would be literature or some message left,” said Detective Rollen F. Burns. “Right now, all we have is a lady whose car tires are being slashed time after time.”

Since February, more than 60 car tires at the house in the 300 block of N. Second Street have been flattened, usually in the middle of the night.

Although police have been patrolling the neighborhood and have assigned several officers to take shifts watching the house, they have no suspects.

Graham, a high school cafeteria worker who has lived in the house for 21 years, said she believes someone from the neighborhood is targeting the cars in her front yard because they do not want her family living in the ranch-style Victorian house. Since 1991, several of her family members have immigrated from Vietnam to live with her in the five-bedroom house.

“I feel awful,” Graham said, her voice cracking. “It’s just a really weird feeling that you can’t even park in your own yard. I want to ask for help.”

Through its Crime Stoppers program, the Port Hueneme Police Department is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to the identification of the vandals. To file a report, call 986-TALK. Callers may remain anonymous.