On the evening of Saturday, April 5, vandals damaged private and public property between 3rd and 4th Streets and Naugle and Duquesne Avenues in Patagonia. Eleven private vehicles had their tires slashed. The Patagonia Library had four cameras smashed. Decorative plates at the Community Garden were destroyed. A home vending machine was damaged on Duquesne Ave. The public restroom’s toilets were stuffed with PRT newspapers.
Chief Deputy Gerardo Castillo said the County Sheriff’s Office has no leads on the case but the investigation is ongoing. The incident was called into the Sheriff Office on April 7 by a resident on Duquesne Street. Damage to vehicles ranged from $100-500 and ten of the eleven owners agreed to press charges if the perpetrators are identified. He encouraged anyone who had information to call the Sheriff’s Office.
Jan Herron and Gama Leva had the tires punctured on their new Lexus parked on Naugle across the street from the Art Center. Herron said the vandals could not cut through their sidewalls so they punctured the tread. Herron and Leva also made and hung the 12 decorative plates at the Community Garden that were destroyed by the vandals. They were particularly disappointed by the loss of the plates and plan to replace them.
Linda Shore, the President of Town’s Library Advisory Board for the Library and now acting Town Librarian, commented that the cameras were not obviously visible but were destroyed anyway. The library closed at 5pm on Saturday evening and the damage was not discovered until the morning of Monday, April 7.
Theories on who committed the crimes range from a random group passing through town, local kids, or a planned attack that took place in several southern Ariona communities on April 5. None of these theories have been substantiated.
Patagonia Town Manager Ron Robinson did not reply to an inquiry from the PRT regarding the vandalism spree.