Orchard Park patrol officers were on the hunt for three suspected vandals Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Their investigation started around 11 p.m., when an officer noticed smashed mailboxes on Jewett Holmwood Road, Birdsong Parkway and Deer Run. A homeowner on one of the streets told the officer they saw three people in the area. They all had backpacks. The patrol officer initiated a search of the area using infrared thermal cameras, but no one was found.
About an hour and a half later, at 1:20 a.m., the police department received a call from someone living on Deer Run who also reported seeing three males smashing mailboxes. Officers chased them on foot and were able to apprehend them in the neighborhood of Independence Heights.
The suspects are three teenage males whose names have not been released because they are minors:
- a 15-year-old male from the Independence Heights neighborhood of Orchard Park
- a 15-year-old male from Elma
- a 16-year-old male from Buffalo
Officers also discovered more damaged mailboxes on Curley Drive. In addition to smashing more than two dozen mailboxes, police say the suspects also defecated on a parked vehicle after damaging it. Officers report the suspects admitted to their involvement in the vandalism and were each charged with fifth-degree criminal mischief and fifth-degree conspiracy. They were released to their parents with an appearance date set for Orchard Park Youth Court.
Officers say anyone whose property was damaged in connection to these incidents can contact the Orchard Park Police Department at (716) 662-6444.
