Two men were arrested Wednesday night in connection with a two-year vandalism spree in Burlington that left some 200 cars with hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of damage, often due to windows being shot out with BB guns.
Burlington police said William Bowler, 24, of Swanton and Alexander Charbonneau, 30, of Burlington were caught after six acts of vandalism on Wednesday night.
“Based on information gained throughout the investigation, it is believed that Bowler and Charbonneau are responsible for damaging over 200 individual vehicles over the past two years in the city of Burlington,” a police statement said.
Burlington police said they had devoted “significant resources” in recent weeks to investigating the crimes, and that leads they received following an earlier press release helped them track down the suspects.
“The incidents have occurred in all parts of the city with no specific area being targeted more than another,” the statement said. Some vehicles had up to five windows shot out, incurring up to $2,000 in damage, it said.
After arresting the suspects, police searched their truck and found several weapons, including an automatic BB gun and 9 mm pistol, along with a case of CO2 canisters and assorted metal tools. Police also said Charbonneau was carrying an assortment of knives and guns.
Bowler and Charbonneau were being charged with various felony and misdemeanor counts and were to be brought to Chittenden County District Court Thursday morning, police said, and that the investigation was ongoing.
City Council member Adam Roof, I-Ward, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said the spree had been particularly hard to stop because of how spread out the incidents were.
“Thank goodness and what a great job by the Burlington police department,” he said of the arrests. “That is such a hard thing to catch when a group of people —- two people it seems — are systematically vandalizing a city in a randomized way.”
Clark Sheldon, a Parallel Justice specialist at the Burlington Police Department, said he has assisted a number of victims in recent years with dealing with vandalized vehicles. He said on top of the financial and logistical challenges posed by broken windows, it also makes victims think twice about their routine and surroundings.
“There’s a safety impact,” he said. “People wonder ‘Why did this happen to me? Will it happen again? Am I being targeted personally for some reason?’ It makes the neighborhood feel less safe in general.”
