SPANISH FORK -- A Spanish Fork neighborhood was vandalized overnight. Both public and private property was found tagged with spray-painted slurs Monday morning, police said.
“The disregard for somebody`s property is very upsetting,” said resident Mark Wills.
Police were called to the southwest area of town at approximately 1 a.m. They received a dozen more calls as residents woke to find their garage doors, several fences, mailboxes and two cars tagged with obscene images and language.
Resident David Wills spent several hours removing the obscenities with paint thinner.
“There is an urgency. There`s quite a bit of vulgar stuff in some of the areas between the words and images -- very childish,” David Wills said.
“KR3W” was spray painted in several spots. The insignia is from a clothing company in southern California, police said. Police believe the graffiti is not gang related but more likely done by kids causing trouble.
“Unfortunately, as they do this they don`t understand the gravity of the situation, the damage it causes and the impact it has on members of the community,” said Lt. Matt Johnson with Spanish Fork Police.
Johnson said it’s also likely the kids don’t realize that if caught they could face criminal charges.
"That's determined on the dollar amount,” Johnson said. “It could be just a class B misdemeanor for criminal mischief or if there are more individuals it could be gang enhanced."
Police estimate thousands of dollars in damage even with David Wills and his neighbors removing the paint themselves.
“Kids just trying to get their kicks – that makes it more frustrating,” David Wills said.
