CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.- Police say there are two things that increase every summer: the heat and the number of juvenile crimes.
There's been a recent rash of vandalism in a mid-state neighborhood, and police say that surge is likely the beginning of what's to come this summer.
The last day of school in Montgomery County was Tuesday. Clarksville Police say it's no coincidence that by Wednesday morning, they responded to a rash of vandalism. Though they say vandalism is a typical teenage crime, it's one that can carry some significant consequences by summer's end.
Nicholas Varnado started his summer cleaning and scrubbing black spray paint off his red Hyundai.
"I couldn't get it all off the back. You can see they got this and this. It was all over here, and I got as much as I could off," Varnado explained.
He also showed NewsChannel 5 where someone painted his window, windshield, and tags covering the stickers and numbers on his license plate.
The vandals sprayed the side of his house, a shed down the street, road signs and three other cars on Cindy Jo Drive, leaving a four-letter word on the hood.
"I am thinking it was bored teenagers on the first day of summer," Vernado surmised, and police are thinking the exact same thing. They say it's no coincidence this happened within 24 hours of the last day of school: the day when summer juvenile crimes begin to increase.
"We have taken in custody kids, 9, 10, 11-years-old for residential burglaries. Generally that is not type of thing you get. It's usually the vandalisms," explained Jim Knoll with Clarksville Police.
But when that prank leaves an expensive stain like what's on Varnado's house and car, the children involved can face criminal charges, and parents can get billed for the clean-up.
Parent, Stephanie Nicholson said she knows summer can be tough for working parents but says teens need better things to do than ruin the neighborhood.
"If someone sees that, I would hope they would think, ‘There are people we need to watch out for,' and always hold your kids accountable."
Varnado plans to hold whoever did this to his car accountable and is bracing for what the next two months could bring.
There is also a curfew for teens in Clarksville. On week nights, anyone
16 and under should not be outside without a parent between 10:00 pm and 6:00
am.
Starting June 14th, Clarksville Parks and Recreation will begin its annual Summer Night Lights which is free and open to teens and families every Thursday and Friday until August. Parents can involve teens in those activities to keep them busy and hopefully, out of trouble.
Nicholas Varnado's tags were ruined by black spray paint.
