Orchid Lake neighborhood complains of vandalism

One resident says he knows others who are patrolling with firearms to take back their neighborhood.

By TAMARA LUSH

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 20, 2000

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Michelle Cross is fed up, and a little scared, truth be told.

Her Banister Lane home has been pelted with eggs. She has watched carloads of teens tear up and down her street at all hours of the day and night. And all four tires on her daughter's car were slashed three weeks ago.

"There needs to be a little more security around here," Cross said last week.

Ed and Carol Field, who live nearby on Rose Petal Lane, have had similar problems. The back window of their pickup truck was shattered recently.

"I cannot afford to put up with this," said Carol Field.

Dozens of her neighbors in the Orchid Lake subdivision feel the same way. Many are fed up with the seemingly random vandalism in their neighborhood.

Some resolve to do whatever it takes to stop the problem and say the Pasco County Sheriff's Office has given them a lukewarm response when they report the vandalism. The residents say they have not contacted the Sheriff's Office about forming a neighborhood watch or security patrol.

Steve Lanterman, who lives on Rose Petal Lane, says that he knows of people in the neighborhood who are patrolling the area themselves -- armed with guns.

"We're going to fight back and we're going to take our neighborhood back," Lanterman said.

Officials from the Pasco Sheriff's Office say the Orchid Lake vandalism problem is no better or worse than in any other neighborhood. Vandalism -- as frustrating as it is -- generally is committed by juveniles and happens in all neighborhoods at various times, officials say.

A deputy can't physically respond to every vandalism complaint, said sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll, who added that a desk officer often will take a vandalism report over the phone.

In the past six months, there have been 34 calls in Orchid Lake for service about criminal mischief -- the category of crime that includes much of the vandalism happening in that neighborhood.

About 22 of those calls generated an incident report, which means the rest were found to have no criminal basis or the complainant didn't talk to police. Even fewer resulted in arrests, Doll said. And none of the incidents in the past month, when most of the vandalism has occurred, have led to an arrest.

Vandalism is one of the more difficult crimes to solve, Doll said.

"It's a crime of opportunity," he said. "It's done quick, without leaving a lot of evidence."

Sheriff's officials said many people don't even call authorities about vandalism; Cross said she didn't bother when vandals threw eggs at her home.

The best way for residents to handle vandalism is to form a neighborhood security patrol, said John Spicuglia, the crime prevention manager for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

The patrols are supervised by the Sheriff's Office, and a deputy trains the civilian members. They can't have a felony record, must wear an ID badge and not carry weapons while on patrol.

"We don't want them to take any police action," said Spicuglia. "There's nothing in that neighborhood worth getting hurt over."

The Sheriff's Office has heard about the problems in Orchid Lake and has promised to call the neighborhood's civic association about starting a security patrol.

In the meantime, Michelle Cross is happy that a local tire company replaced her daughter's tires for free. And she is encouraged by the sheriff's attempt to organize a security patrol.

"Anything to help," she said.

-- Times staff writer Tamara Lush is the police reporter in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6245. Her e-mail address is lush@sptimes.com.

To form a patrol

To form a neighborhood security patrol in your area, call the Pasco County Sheriff's Office at 727-834-3376.

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