Lompoc Police Search for Serial Tire Slasher

Lompoc Police are stepping up their search for a serial tire slasher responsible for thousands of dollars in damage from nearly 40 cases during the month of September alone.

Four more cases of slashed or punctured tires were reported to Lompoc Police on Wednesday.

“Our total count right now is 38 victims and that’s reported”, says Lompoc Police Sgt. Kevin Martin, “the most important thing I can say to the public is if you are a victim of this crime, report it to us, we need to know, each time they commit this crime, if we can tie it back to a party it raises the dollar value of the crime and at this point its a felony right now.”

Its been a busy month at Camarena’s Tires on Ocean Avenue near Highway 1 in Lompoc with people coming in with vandalized tires.

Sgt. Martin says the vandalism spree has been across the city but the southeast side of town has been hit harder that other areas.

“Know your neighbors, know who is in your neighborhood”, Martin says about how people can protect themselves, “get to know who’s to the left, who’s to the right of you, or across the street from you, let them know you, so if someone is seen around your vehicle, that’s not supposed to be there they’ll know it and they’ll take some type of action.”

Sgt. Martin says Lompoc Police need the eyes and ears of the public, as well as any other evidence, to help them track down those responsible for the very costly vandalism spree.

“We’re seeing a lot more video of recording systems on residences and that’s awesome evidence”, Martin says, “if we have a videotape showing the suspects committing the crime we get descriptions, we get clothing items, things like that, help us trace it, figure out who is responsible for it.”

Lompoc Police say most of the tire vandalism is happening at night during the cover of darkness.

If you have any information about the tire vandalism spree call Lompoc Police at (805) 736-2341 or the Police Hot Line at (805) 736-0519.

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The Lompoc Police Department is investigating 33 Vehicle Vandalism’s where the suspect(s) used a knife or other cutting device to puncture the tires on the victims’ vehicles.

The crimes are spread across random areas within the city limits. The majority of these crimes are occurring during the hours of darkness.

Lompoc police are asking for the public’s help to identify the persons responsible for these crimes. Anyone with information regarding any of the vandalized vehicles is asked to call the Lompoc Police Department tip line at 805-875-7333.