Vandals shatter windows in 2 towns

ARLINGTON -- At 6 a.m. yesterday, one of Paul Turano's employees called to tell him that one of three large windows at the front of his restaurant was shattered, a small hole having spread cracks throughout the glass.

A few blocks away, service employees at the Hodgdon-Noyes car dealership on Massachusetts Avenue saw similar holes and cracks in a display window when they arrived at work.

And shortly after owner Jerry Karpowicz opened `` bagels by US" nearby, he saw that his front window had been broken.

``One of my customers came in and said, `Hey, look, one of your windows got hit, too,' " Karpowicz said. A projectile had pierced the display window where he advertises iced coffee, bagels, and egg sandwiches.

About 30 businesses along Massachusetts Avenue, from the Cambridge to the Lexington lines, were damaged yesterday after vandals armed with slingshots went on an early morning spree along Arlington's central commercial artery, catapulting glass marbles and ball bearings, according to police.

The attacks were indiscriminate and caused about $30,000 worth of damage, including at a local post office, according to police. Every incident of malicious destruction causing more than $250 in damage is a felony, police said.

``We're not treating this as a prank," said Arlington's police chief, Frederick Ryan . ``This is a series of serious, serious felonies that compromised the operations of certain businesses with obvious financial impact. People couldn't open for business."

Ryan said three 17-year-olds were charged Sunday with a series of vandalism incidents, but they were not linked to yesterday's spree.

``There's nothing leading us to believe that this is directly connected to the graffiti-type vandalism that we've been wrestling with in the past," Ryan said.

Police departments in Lexington and Watertown, as well as Arlington, said they are beefing up efforts after yesterday's incidents to combat what they say is a scourge of vandalism in their communities. Ryan said vandalism in Arlington has been rising ``drastically" in the past six months.

``We have seen an increase of graffiti and some vandalism," said Brian Sullivan , Arlington's town manager. ``Up to this point we haven't seen anything of this magnitude."

Sullivan said the Arlington Board of Selectmen has deemed vandalism a ``top priority" and in the spring had formed The Task Force To Combat Graffiti.

A letters warning of the consequences of vandalism were sent home with students at the end of the school year, and the town recently adopted zero tolerance policies for those caught painting on walls or destroying property in any way .

``We have taken an aggressive stance on graffiti," Sullivan said.

The crime is usually committed by teenagers, he said.

``The only explanation in my mind is that it's just hooliganism. Tagging is one thing that kids have in their mind, that's serious, but I think this is a whole different level ."

The vandals spread their mayhem into neighboring communities, crossing into Lexington on Massachusetts Avenue and blowing out the rear window of a car and a store front window, said Joseph O'Leary, Lexington police spokesman .

``We have highlighted this event; there will be conversations at every shift," O'Leary said.

In Watertown, police said similar acts of vandalism occurred last week when vandals broke the windows of four cars and three businesses using marbles and other projectiles.

``More than likely it's a group of kids going around shooting a slingshot," said Michael Lawn, Watertown police spokesman. ``The officers working the overnight shift are going to be looking more for those types of things . . . . We get all kinds of vandalism all the time, but this is different."

Turano said vandals are often naïve about the extent of the damage they are causing, noting that it will cost him $1,500 for a new window.

``No one needs that. It's so frustrating. It's such a disregard for someone's property," Turano said.