An anonymous tip and fast-acting law enforcement led to the arrest of one Carson City man and a 16-year-old male in connection with a destroyed windows on Carson City’s west side during the weekend.
Levi Minor, 18, was arrested on suspicion of 10 counts of destruction of property, a gross misdemeanor, and one count of destruction of property, $5,000 or more, a felony. The arrest came after a flurry of activity in the sheriff’s office and an anonymous tip. The tip led the deputies to Minor and his alleged 16-year-old accomplice.
Minor told deputies he shot and destroyed the windows “because the city was wasting money on the schools and decorations of the freeway instead of expanding the skate park,” according to the arrest report. “Levi advised he had a petition signed by several people to expand the skate park but the petition was ignored.”
Minor reportedly told deputies he estimated he, along with the 16-year-old and another juvenile, broke 10 windows in the areas of Musser, King, Crain, Tacoma, Minnesota, Robinson and Caroline streets.
The 16-year-old told deputies he also was angry about the city not spending money on the skate park and other things for children and teens, according to the arrest report.
Deputies used video surveillance from the school and residences, Sheriff Ken Furlong said.
The first reports of damage came in at 6 a.m. Sunday and continued throughout the day. Carson Middle School’s windows were destroyed by large rocks, while other houses had BB-sized holes in them and other car windows were shattered.
“You can map out their path by the damage,” Sgt. Darrin Sloan said, adding that the number of incidents is up to 12. The cost of damage is expected to be well above the initial estimate of $5,000 with the cost of window installations.
“I am over-the-top happy,” Furlong said about the arrest. “This is law enforcement ... at its best. It was such a whirlwind of activity. Everyone was honed in, sharing (video surveillance.)”
Furlong said the effort by his men and women and uniform is important because “when you go after low-level crimes (such as vandalism,) it prevents those bigger ones from happening.”
When it came to the anonymous tip, Furlong praised the community.
“We can go a mile with a mere suspicion,” he said. The tip came in Tuesday afternoon. The officers “took it and ran,” he said.
“The community is not tolerant of this,” Furlong said. “People will stand up for the right thing.”
Bail was set at $30,000 for Minor. The identity of the juvenile was not released.
A third arrest is expected soon, Furlong said.