4 Youths Held in Vandalism of Cars, Mailboxes

Four teenagers, believed to have caused more than $100,000 in damage during a five-week vandalism spree, were arrested early Sunday morning in a normally tranquil Orange neighborhood where 20 mailboxes were uprooted from curbside concrete mounts and hurled through the windows of homes or parked vehicles.

Victor Y. Sarvis, an 18-year-old from Santa Ana, and three unidentified Tustin High School students--two of them 16 and the other 17--were taken into custody by Orange police, who were summoned to the scene of the latest rampage by residents awakened by loud banging and crashing sounds about 3:30 Sunday morning.

The young men, who police said were yanking a mailbox from the ground, tried to flee in a car but were caught after a brief chase. They did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they were arrested, Orange Police Sgt. Dave Hill said.

“We believe they have caused more than $100,000 worth of damage to property throughout the county,” Hill said.

Lt. Colin Murphy of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said the four youths are suspected of another 10 acts of vandalism late Saturday night and early Sunday morning in Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo, where two parked cars were overturned and mailboxes uprooted in the same manner as in Orange.

“The events that happened [in South County] are similar to those that happened in Orange early this morning, and we are going to investigate [whether] they may be responsible for . . . the other incidents,” Murphy said.

Orange Police Sgt. Mike Corbitt said the four young men confessed to the vandalism in Orange that occurred Sunday morning, as well as to other incidents dating back several weeks.

Authorities also believe the teenagers may be responsible for a vandalism episode at Palisades Elementary School in Dana Point on Friday night, where windows and computer equipment were smashed and a fire was set.

“We’re still investigating that,” Murphy said. “But we don’t have enough information at this time.”

In addition, officials said the suspects could be responsible for recent vandalism at public schools in Los Angeles County.

Sarvis, the 18-year-old, was booked on suspicion of felony vandalism and contributing to the delinquency of minors and was being held in Orange County Jail. The three other youths also were booked on felony vandalism charges and were being held in Orange County Juvenile Hall.

Authorities said that during their confessions, Sarvis and the other three suspects did not reveal why they chose to wreak havoc in the county’s middle-class neighborhoods. Police said they are investigating whether others are involved in the vandalism.

Orange Police Sgt. Jeff Burton said the arrest was a “stroke of luck.” Police had thought the recent wave of vandalism was made up of isolated incidents.

“Our officers just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Burton said.

Hill said the vandalism spree started about five weeks ago, when portable toilets were tipped over at construction sites and baseball bats were used to destroy mailboxes in residential and commercial areas all over the county.

“But it escalated,” Hill said. “They were regularly smashing windows of cars and homes with rocks and full cans of sodas, and they also overturned four small vehicles in south Orange County.”

Sunday morning’s vandalism in Orange occurred in the 100 and 200 blocks of Quail Lane, where police estimated damage at more than $10,000. The teenagers appeared to be focusing on uprooting pricey 40- to 60-pound cast-iron or metal mailboxes and heaving them through car and home windows, police said.

Becky and Frank Harlan, who were among the victims, said police woke them about 3:30 a.m. because their wrought-iron mailbox had been ripped from its concrete moorings and smashed through a window of their 1992 Dodge van.

“I couldn’t believe that our mailbox was just sticking out of the back window of the van,” said Becky Harlan, who estimated damage to her property at more than $1,000. “They actually took the mailbox out of a concrete slab. I can’t believe they thought they had so much time.”

Frank Harlan said that except for a Fourth of July incident last year, when a neighbor’s mailbox was blown up, Quail Lane has been “a pretty quiet street.”

Some Quail Lane residents said they awoke to loud noises on their block early Sunday and called police to report it.

“I just heard a couple of real heavy things falling,” resident Janet Heath said. “When I looked out the window, the police were already here.”

Resident John Zumekher said the area looked like a war zone Sunday morning when he went outside to get his newspaper.

“There are so many windows broken,” said Zumekher, whose mailbox and home were spared. “There’s broken glass everywhere. It looks like a bomb was dropped here.”