20-year-old arrested for allegedly damaging mailboxes

Published 6:21 am Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Police arrested a 20-year-old Austin man Sunday for allegedly damaging about 25 mailboxes during the weekend — causing an estimated $1,500 in damage.

Two other Austin men, ages 18 and 20, were interviewed and released.

A resident in the 2400 block of 10th Avenue Southwest called police at about 10 p.m. Sunday to report that people in a white SUV were damaging a mailbox, Austin police Lt. John Mueller said.

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Officers located the car driving north on 27th Street Southwest toward Oakland Avenue and stopped it, with three male occupants, near a Ford dealership, Mueller said.

The 20-year-old driver was cited for obstruction of legal process and officers used a chemical spray before handcuffing him, Mueller said.

Officers found a baseball bat in the vehicle as well as other items that could be used to damage mailboxes, Mueller said.

Whether the alleged vandals are linked to recent incidents of vandalism by BB gun fire will be investigated, Mueller said.