Vandalism in Wickham Village

Warwick — It’s not uncommon to find residents within the tight-knit neighborhood of Wickham Village gathering on the street to chat about different topics - school starting, the cost of gas, politics, vacations. Wednesday, though, the topic was much more serious. At least 24 families in the neighborhood, as well as some across Kings Highway in The Ridge at Wickham, were either awakened around midnight or woke up Wednesday morning to find spray painting on cars and houses. “It’s usually pretty quiet around here,” said John Nemeth, a resident of Wickham Drive, who said his dog was barking and growling from about 10:30 p.m. on. He just dismissed it, not realizing that the dog was actually hearing a group of vandals outside defacing property. Nemeth was one of the first to go outside and discover spray painting on his mother’s car. The letters “BDP” were painted on the driver’s side door, while a happy face greeted him on the hood. Nemeth spent the next few hours outside polishing off the spray paint on not only his mother’s car, but also several neighbors’ cars. “I was up until 3:30 polishing this stuff off cars,” Nemeth said. “It’s ridiculous.” He also went to help people clean up their siding, which wasn’t as easy as getting the spray paint off the cars. “It just smeared on the siding,” he said. Nemeth’s mother, Debbie Norris, said the spray paint is just the latest incident in the neighborhood. Her car and house, she said, have been egged recently, and on a more serious note, shot at with a BB gun. “I’m here 24 years and this is beyond a prank,” said Norris. “I don’t think they’re done yet either.” As Norris and Nemeth talked outside with neighbors Wednesday afternoon, another neighbor said his wife awoke Tuesday night and saw three kids running down Wickham Drive toward Kings Highway. Another neighbor saw three kids running up Sunset, a street just off Wickham. That was just after many neighbors awoke to the sound of a huge crash of splintered glass showering down. The damage to this homeowner tops out at about $3,000, definitely not a small prank. Rather, homeowners in this quiet neighborhood are looking at this as a crime. Police agree. “We imagine it is teenagers,” said Warwick police Sergeant Chris Cockburn. “But they can be facing some strict penalties, including thousands of dollars in restitution, volunteer time and jail time.” Cockburn, who said he spent a couple of hours Wednesday walking through the neighborhood looking for paint cans and clues, said 24 people have called to report vandalism so far. He encouraged anyone who may know anything about the vandalism or who has been vandalized to call the Warwick police, even anonymously. “We have a pretty good track record catching people who do this,” said Cockburn. “But we need the public’s help on it.” If the neighbors’ anger has anything to do with it, the police will get that help and more. “We have to put pressure on the police to put an end to this,” said one neighbor who stopped in her car to talk. “This can’t keep going on.” She was philosophical about the situation too. “What goes around comes around.” The residents talking said they are going to look into a neighborhood watch. “Everybody watches out for each other around here, anyway,” said Nemeth. In the meantime, Cockburn said police would be increasing patrols in Wickham Village and across Kings Highway, down Airport Road. And, while no one is sure what the “BDP” stands for, Nemeth has a guess - “Bad, dumb people.” Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call the Warwick police at 845-986-3423. The identities of all callers will be kept confidential.