The Carbondale Police Department has responded to several reports of tire slashing incidents around the city since the end of September.

Sgt. Doug Wilson, of the Carbondale Police Department, said there have been approximately 23 reported incidents that have primarily occurred around East College Street and East Mill Street.   

Although the suspect or suspects haven’t not been identified yet, they will face charges if they are captured for damaging residents property. 

“When you slash someone’s tires, it’s what we would call criminal damage to property. And if one or more suspects are identified for each incident, they could get separate charges,” Wilson said. 

Mark Holt, owner of Holt’s Tire in Carbondale, said that 4 of his customers were affected by the tire slashing incidents around September and October; none of the customers saw or heard anything out of the ordinary when the incidents occurred. But one customer said that their property was also stolen, along with the tire slashing incident. 

“We had one young lady that put up cameras, and she told us that they even stole one of her cameras,” Holt said.

Holt said Carbondale experienced similar events like the tire slashings years prior to the current events, and the city often faces acts of vandalism that are similar. The financial burden is also impacting victims, in most cases they are expected to pay out of pocket for the damages since some insurances won’t cover the expenses.  

“Most criminals like to lurk where it’s dark, where there’s very little light. So if your car is parked in a dark area, even if it’s on your own property, it would be difficult to see if someone was damaging your property or breaking into it,” Wilson said. “So adding light, even if you have a rental house that you’re living in or an apartment, if you want to add a spotlight that shines down somewhere on your car maybe from the window of your bedroom or the window of the back of the house.” 

Courtney Alexander can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at ___Courtney_alex23______. 

To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter. 

Advertisement