More than 30 Douglas residents woke up Wednesday morning to bad news after a vandal slashed tires along a lengthy stretch of the highway between the Douglas Bridge and Sandy Beach.
Juneau Police Department officers are investigating vandalism to a total of 36 vehicles in the 2000 and 3000 block of Douglas Highway, with the damage likely exceeding $10,000.
“Officers responded to the area several times early this morning,” JPD public safety manager Erann Kalwara said. “The first call was received at around 3:37 a.m. An officer responded and initiated an investigation into vandalism of one vehicle that sustained two slashed tires. Two officers later responded to the area at about 5:45 a.m. and spoke with several people whose vehicles had been damaged.”
After contacting victims and surveying the area, 34 vehicles were found to be damaged, Kalwara said. Later Wednesday morning, several of the vehicle owners called JPD, and as of early in the afternoon, a total of 36 vehicles are believed to have been damaged.
Jonah Graves, who lives in the 3200 block of Douglas Highway, said his truck and that of his cousin both sustained damage, with two tires punctured on each vehicle.
“I’m going to be out of luck for a little while,” Graves said, adding that he has gotten an estimate of $1,100 to replace his tires and that he can’t afford the financial hit right now.
Graves said he got home about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday night and discovered the damage after he woke up around 7 a.m.
The vandal hit all the vehicles parked on the channel side of the highway, starting about 500 yards from Breeze In and extending all the way to Sandy Beach, he said.
From what Graves could see, every vehicle parked on the highway had the two tires on the curb side slashed, but the cars parked in open garages or in driveways had three or four tires slashed.
“I couldn’t find the puncture mark on my tires,” he said, speculating the vandal used a screwdriver to cause the damage.
“It’s not fun,” Graves said. “This is not what I could afford today.”
JPD has asked anyone with information about this incident to call 586-0600 and speak with an officer.
Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
