Graffiti, car break-ins keep deputies busy

The yellow house with white trim had just gotten a fresh coat of paint, preparing for its new owners to move in.

But early Monday, someone took spray cans and striped the Ridge Manor house with obscenities.

Dee Brown, a broker with Hernando East Realty, drove over to the home on Orchid Parkway and studied the words.

"Oh, yes," she said. "They strike again."

Brown recalled seeing a home similarly vandalized days earlier, so she was not necessarily surprised to hear that the Sheriff's Office was investigating nine instances of vandalism from late Sunday to early Monday.

Some neighborhood residents think the graffiti is the work of the Ridge Manor Outlaws, a group rumored to cause mischief in the neighborhood. However, no one seems to know if the group is real.

Lt. Joe Paez of the Sheriff's Office said deputies had not heard of the group before.

"It could be that they have just started identifying themselves this way," he said.

Deputies found a "3" and a backward "7" sprayed on the trunk of a white Pontiac; a Chevrolet with both headlights painted orange; a mailbox with numbers painted on it; and the letters "PLP" sprayed on the back window of a 2000 Ford Expedition.

Deputies also talked with a woman who believes someone may have stolen spray paint from a shed behind her home.

Paez said detectives have not made any arrests.

Authorities also are looking into nine car burglaries that occurred around Anderson Snow Road before dawn on Monday.

A 57-year-old told deputies that he was preparing to leave for work when he noticed his 1999 pickup truck was missing from his driveway. He told authorities his truck was locked and the keys were not inside.

Eight other residents living nearby reported that their cars were broken into and their speakers, cellular phones, compact discs or money was stolen.

Paez said detectives do not believe the vehicle burglaries and vandalism instances were related.

Dee said the obscenities on the Ridge Manor house had been painted over.

"Everyone will be watching a little more carefully," she said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 754-6830.

-- Jamie Jones covers law enforcement and courts in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6114. Send e-mail to jjones@sptimes.com.

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