Continuous vandalism leaves tenants frustrated, demanding authorities help

TUCSON, AZ. (KGUN) — Tenants are tired of the frequent vandalism to their stores off Speedway and Alvernon and say they want law enforcement to take action.

“On Christmas Day my husband and my dad were here boarding these windows. It took the police an hour and a half to get here," said Julie Sprotte. She co-owns The Blind Guys at 3955 E. Speedway Blvd.

They have been in their current location since April. Previously, their store was located roughly a mile away, off Speedway and Swan.

"We moved locations because the same thing was happening over there, but worse. It was an issue, one of my employees got attacked one time. So, we moved, hoping it would be better at this location," Sprotte explained.

Athena Kehoe

Ashley Moler is a chiropractor whose business was also vandalized.

"This isn’t random. This is three times in two weeks. My office got hit twice within three days.” Moler said the lack of police presence is frustrating.

"I hope they hire more police officers. Our city needs to do something about the fact that there aren't enough officers helping us," Moler said.

Tenants have been voicing their concerns to not only the Tucson Police Department but to neighborhood advocates as well. In an email thread, one of the neighbor advocates explained, "as our law enforcement partners explained, there aren't enough cops in Midtown to cover random acts of vandalism."

“I don’t know how to walk the line of being sympathetic toward the people that could potentially be suffering from mental illness and drug addiction who are doing the vandalizing and then walking the line between, well, I’m just trying to come to work and provide for my family," Sprotte said.

"This is the first business that I've owned and I have a small family and it means a lot to us," Moler explained.

On Monday morning, Moler's shop door was vandalized, broken glass left scattered in the entryway. "I called the police Monday morning and they sent a community officer and nothing has happened. I am responsible now for this damage and nobody will do anything about it," Moler said.

One of the neighborhood advocates recommended they attend the Alvernon Grant Initiative (AGI) meeting coming up on Tuesday, Jan 14 to voice their concerns.

"Even if you put security cameras up, what’s that going to do if the police won't do anything?" Moler questioned.

"I hope what comes from this is to bring awareness and it's kind of a plea to the city of Tucson and officials to do something different," Sprotte said.

Arizona law lays out the different consequences for vandalism depending on the type of criminal damage that occurred.