Vandals damage Storywalk, tag locations in town
Last updated 4/22/2021 at 1:04pm
RITZVILLE – Vandals tagged businesses with graffiti and several Storywalk installations on the walking path between town and the fairgrounds.
Ritzville Police Officer Matt Carlson said it happened sometime between Saturday night, April 16 and Sunday morning, April 17. The incident was called in at 9:36 a.m. Sunday morning.
"We have a person of interest in this case. He's not from Ritzville and was in town Saturday. We didn't see him Sunday," Carlson said. "He does have a long list of other crimes."
Carlson said if caught, the subject would be charged with malicious mischief in the third degree, and punishment would depend on age.
"The age of culpability is 12 in Washington state, and if they're under 18 we will refer it to Adams County Juvenile Services," Carlson said. "If they are of age, malicious mischief is a gross misdemeanor which carries a punishment of possible jail time, fines, or both."
Carlson said from Division Street going east towards the Wheat Land Communities Fairgrounds, areas vandalized were the window of the Old Hille Chevrolet building, a shipping container by the concrete plant at 414 East Main, behind the American Flag metal art mural in the 500 block of East Main, and on four Storywalk installations as well as three places on the concrete of the Storywalk walking path.
"This morning I got notified the backside of the Ritzville Warehouse – the seed plant in the 300 block of East Main – also got hit," Carlson said Monday, April 19.
He said all of the larger tags had at least one similarity to them – a circle with a star in the middle and a hump over that with a cross.
Carlson said the tags were not known yet as gang symbols, but the Ritzville Police Department has reached out to the Othello and Warden Police Departments to see if they know more, as they are dealing with a lot of gang graffiti.
"We're pretty sure he is trying to say something, but we can't read it," Carlson said. "The only obvious thing is the circle with the star and cross. I would like to talk to him, so he can explain what he is trying to say."
Carlson said the graffiti was quickly cleaned up.
Ritzville Drug Co. employee Jessica Kidwell took her 14-year-old daughter Shelby and their friend Lilly Kannin, 13, to remove the graffiti from the kiosks along the walking path.
"I was mad about the graffiti, and I saw this as an opportunity to teach my kids they can help out when someone does something bad in the community," Kidwell said, adding, "It was definitely a kid who did the graffiti. No adult would write 'I was here.'"
"Fortunately, for the Hille Chevrolet building, we have a business owner and Good Samaritan, Scott Gorman, who went and took care of that and cleaned the graffiti off the window," Carlson said, adding for business locations, the owners have been notified.
"The sooner you get it taken care of, I feel, is going to discourage them from doing it again," Carlson said. "I think getting it cleaned up is the best thing to do."
Carlson said the best suggestion he could make is for business owners and property owners to install cameras.
"They're not that expensive anymore. I think it's time we all start putting up cameras. They not only help protect your own property, but your neighbors' as well," Carlson said, adding, "Any one with questions can get hold of us, and we can explain how and where to install cameras. We're fortunate in Ritzville, homeowners and business owners are willing to give us camera footage when we need it. It isn't like that in the city."
Carlson said anyone with any information can call dispatch, and they will get hold of whoever is working at the time.
Carlson said in the past eight years he has been here, this is only the second incident like this.
"And this incidence was way worse. Last time it was just some manhole covers that got tagged," Carlson said. "I'm glad it got cleaned up and it wasn't found anywhere else. I drove all over town and didn't see anything anywhere else."
The Storywalk was created by East Adams Library District staff with a state library grant and installed by City Public Works employees.
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