Police search for vandals

Police are still searching for suspects allegedly involved in a crime spree that left a slew of vehicles in one Rocklin neighborhood vandalized.The vandalism, which occurred in the early morning hours of May 29 along Rocklin Road, included one vehicle in the Denny's parking lot near Interstate 80 and more than a dozen at the Rocklin Manor apartments near Sierra College Boulevard.According to a press release, "Rocklin Police Officers responded to a report of slashed tires on a truck just after midnight in the Denny's restaurant parking lot at 4460 Rocklin Road. At 1:30 a.m. a resident from the Rocklin Manor Apartments at 5240 Rocklin Rd. called regarding a motorcycle that was knocked over and spray-painted. Throughout the early and mid-morning hours officers and owners found over a dozen more vehicles that were vandalized with slashed tires and spray paint."The damage, totaling several thousand dollars, consisted of slashed tires and spray painted graffiti."Some leads have developed and we have served a search warrant. The investigation is still moving forward," said Sgt. Scott Horrillo of the Rocklin Police Department.Denny's Manager James Peek said that two tires on a customer's work truck were slashed.Most of the damage, however, occurred at Rocklin Manor.Rob Stephenson, an 11-month resident of the complex, said he suffered about $100 in damage from one slashed tire."Aside from this, we have never had any incidents," Stephenson said, adding that he has no reason to believe it will happen again."But it's still fresh in my mind," he said.Perhaps the hardest hit of the many victims at Rocklin Manor were one-year residents Sharon Blair and her husband, Michael Blair.Three of the couple's vehicles were vandalized, including a Honda motorcycle that was knocked over and spray painted, she said."The insurance company totaled out the motorcycle for about $4,000," Blair said.The vandals also slashed all four tires and spray painted both her husband's commuter car and his pick-up truck, she said, adding at least another $1,000 to the total damages.The Blairs, who just signed their second one-year lease prior to the vandalism, don't have any plans to move."This is the first time anything like this has ever happened," she said.Although neither Stephenson nor the Blairs have heard anything new regarding the status of the investigation, Blair said that they expect to learn more at their neighborhood watch meeting tonight.The Rocklin Police Department asks that anyone who may have seen suspicious activity along Rocklin Road during the early morning hours of May 29 to call the Investigations Unit at 625-5443.Michael Althouse can be reached at: mikealthouse@earthlink.net