Colorado Springs park vandal caught after outdoors expert 'Hiking Bob' boosts reward amount! In September of 2021, John Venezia Park became the victim of vandals who ripped water fountains out of walls, smashed lights and painted politically-motivated graffiti on benches, sidewalks, and other park property. To catch those responsible for the damage, Crime Stoppers issued a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in connection to the vandalism, which they announced in a press release Sept. 23. Robert "Hiking Bob" Falcone, a local journalist and outdoors expert who took particular exception to the vandalism, decided to "sweeten the pot," matching the Crime Stoppers donation to boost the reward to $2,000 on Oct. 12.
Hours after the new reward was announced, a tipster called the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line and Colorado Springs police, providing video footage showing what the vandals were wearing at the time of the crimes and "facial details," according to the Crime Stoppers release and police statements. The suspect information allowed police to identify, track down, and arrest a teenager in connection to the Venezia Park vandalism, later linking them to a separate vandalism case. For more details on this situation, read the full article in the Gazette here. Comments are closed.
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