By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Saturday morning Raton residents from Third Street to Fifth Street from Savage to Mora and other random places in town, woke to find any where from one to four tires slashed on their vehicles.
According to Raton Police Chief Terry Sisneros there are at least 28 victims of this tire slashing spree that they believe started after midnight Saturday morning. He noted that the first call came in about 5:30 Saturday morning and has continued throughout the morning as residents woke up and got outside to find their tires flat.
It will take some time to put a dollar value on this vandalism spree as both tire shops in Raton make the repairs. Some tires took as many as four puncture wounds before going flat. Those tires will probably have to be replaced as they can not be properly repaired according to Mesa Tire owner Beaver Segotta. Segotta and his hands were out making house calls as many residents had more than one flat tire and couldn’t drive to the tire shop.
One resident simple said this is not in the budget. I can’t afford to buy new tires. Rage and disbelief from others were common feelings as residents dealt with the vandalism.
Raton Police are advising residents to make a copy of the repair bill and take that to the Police Station so they can tie that information to the reports. They are also asking residents to keep a watchful eye out and report any suspicious activity so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice.
Update: The number of cars with slashed tires has now reached 32.
Update: The number of cars with slashed tires has now reached 34.
A reward fund has been setup at Wells Fargo Bank in Raton and Crimestoppers is offering a $1500 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the tire slashing incident.
So glad to see local news is on the scene..I too was a victim and if it had not been for the awesome response from our Raton AAA contractor and his quick and thorough stopgap measures so could reach Cunico Tires before their 12 o’clock closing, I would be without much needed transportation until Monday a.m. A shout out as well to the good folks at Cunico who got me in and out with minutes to spare prior to 12 even though they had been dealing with lots of tire issues since they opened…Sure hope leads will surface on identity of vandals and some serious consequences imposed by our local law enforcement agencies……….not just a slap on the hand!!!!!! Two new tires was not in my budget either!!!!!!!