MARYSVILLE — Tom Miller never made it to work on Friday.
Eleven of the 12 tires on his family’s three cars were slashed overnight. He spent the morning buying new ones for two of the cars.
Vandals didn’t just choose Miller. He had plenty of company.
Seventeen of the 20 cars in his cul de sac had tires punctured by something sharp jabbed into a sidewall.
The Marysville Police Department received reports of 132 slit tires, “but we know there are more out there than that,” Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.
By Friday afternoon, police were estimating up to 160 vehicles had tires slashed the night before. Many were in front of homes straddling 100th Street NE near 55th Avenue NE.
Calls started pouring into the police department after 5 a.m.
The first came from a caller who reported hearing a hissing sound from his neighbor’s driveway.
For some families, the vandalism will put a crimp in their holiday budgets.
“It’s really put us in a bind,” Miller said. “There won’t be Christmas presents this year now, but we’ll live through it.”
Miller figures by the time he’s done he’ll have spent thousands of dollars replacing all the destroyed tires.
Miller has little choice but to spend the money. He needs to get to work and his wife uses a second car to transport their special needs daughter, 13, to appointments.
Erik Mangold left his home early Friday morning to find a business card from the police department on the windshield of his car, which had flattened rear tires.
His family’s sport utility vehicle appeared to have been spared.
Mangold, his wife and two young boys, 3 and 1, all piled into the SUV so he could get to his job in Bothell. On I-5, he soon realized something was amiss.
“My tires got super squirrely,” he said.
He got off at the 41st Street exit and found a service station where he was able to get some soapy water to pour over his tires. The sidewalls had been slashed and bubbles formed over the punctures, revealing the slow leaks. He has good insurance, but he’ll still be out $500 for both vehicles.
Mangold said he is frustrated he has to pay for new tires, but is angrier that someone put his family in danger.
“They have nothing to gain from this,” he said. “This is pointless. It’s absolutely pointless.”
Both Miller and Mangold suspect that the vandalism likely is the work of young people.
“I do hope they get caught,” Mangold said. “If it is kids, I feel really bad for their parents.” Restitution could reach tens of thousands of dollars.
Lamoureux said Friday that police are asking for people to call 360-363-8300 with tips. Detectives also are asking people with home security cameras to review video footage to see if any suspicious activity was captured.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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