Vehicles broken into, vandalized in West Reading

A man went to his truck in the morning of March 31, only to find someone smashed the rear wing window while it was parked in the 200 block of Sycamore Road in West Reading. It was the first of three such incidents that borough police received that day.

Another man called police about 4:53 p.m. March 31 after discovering someone had broken into his vehicle while it was parked in the 500 block of Franklin Street. Police did not indicate what, if anything, was stolen.

Less than an hour later, police received a call about a license plate that had been stolen from a vehicle between March 29 and 31, while it was parked in the 600 block of Reading Avenue.

Police charge West Reading resident in car vandalism

A 42-year-old West Reading man faces charges stemming from a Feb. 28 incident in which, police said, he damaged his neighbor's vehicle in the 700 block of Reading Avenue. Based on the charges filed, this was more than an accidental clipping of a side-view mirror or tapping the bumper while parallel parking. Police did not specify what damage was done, but the suspect was charged March 26 with stalking, harassment and criminal mischief. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April.

Vehicles broken into in Wyomissing

Between Feb. 7 and 8, Wyomissing police received a half-dozen calls about thefts -- or attempted thefts -- from vehicles in the borough.

Feb. 7:

• 8:57 a.m.: A security guard at a business in the Berkshire Mall, in the 1600 block of State Hill Road, said employees told him three days earlier that a catalytic converter had been removed from one of the store's delivery trucks.
• 10:36 a.m.: Someone stole computers and a car stereo from a vehicle parked in the 100 block of Park Road North.
• 4:18 p.m.: Someone smashed the left rear window of a vehicle parked in a lot in the 1100 block of Bern Road. The car's owner said nothing was missing.
• 5:38 p.m.: A GPS device was stolen from a sedan parked at the Berkshire Mall, in the 1600 block of State Hill Road. Someone smashed one of the car's windows to get in.

Feb. 8:

• Between 3 and 11:57 a.m.: Someone stole unspecified items from a vehicle parked in the 900 block of Woodland Road.
• Between 1 and 6 p.m.: A stereo was stolen from a vehicle parked in the 2200 block of Ridgewood Road.

Vandals damage vehicles, garage in West Reading

Between Jan. 23 and 26, three people called West Reading police to report vandalism to vehicles and, in one case, a garage:

• About 7:43 p.m. Jan. 23, a man noticed someone had slashed the tires on his son's car in the 600 block of Franklin Street.
• Someone discovered unspecified criminal mischief to a vehicle about 7:29 a.m. Jan. 25 while it was parked at South Fourth Avenue and Oak Terrace.
• Sometime before 7:13 p.m. Jan. 26, several windows were broken in a detached garage of a home in the 700 block of Holland Square.

Boy admits breaking garage windows, damaging vehicles in Wyomissing

A woman brought her son to the Wyomissing police station about 8:21 p.m. Jan. 25 to report that he was assaulted. Officers talked to the boy, but the part of his story they found interesting wasn't the alleged assault: It was his confession to an earlier crime. The lad told police he and two of his friends broke several garage windows and to damaging other vehicles in the borough.

The police report didn't specify which vehicles were damaged, but between Jan. 20 and Jan. 24, several residents reported windows getting smashed:

• A windshield was shattered while parked Jan. 20 in front of a home in the first block of Lynne Avenue.
• About 6:07 p.m. Jan. 20, a man reported finding the windshield of his car kicked in while it was parked in the 1400 block of Garfield Avenue.
• The rear window of a vehicle was shattered in the evening of Jan. 20 in the 100 block of Park Road South.
• An officer on patrol found a vehicle about 10:40 p.m. Jan. 20 at Forest and Garfield avenues with its windshield kicked in and footprints on the hood.
• Between the night of Jan. 20 and the morning of Jan. 21, someone smashed the rear window of a vehicle parked behind a home in the 1300 block of Girard Avenue.
• Finally, a man discovered in the afternoon of Jan. 27 that several windows were broken on his detached garage behind his home in the 1200 block of Girard Avenue.

Again, the police report doesn't specify what mischief the boy admitted to. These are simply the cases of damage to vehicles that residents reported in the days before -- and one after -- he confessed.

Vehicles damaged in West Reading

Vandals have damaged at least seven vehicles in West Reading between Jan. 7 and Jan. 16, including three on Jan. 16 within a few blocks of one another:

• 9:54 p.m. Jan. 7: A rear window of a vehicle parked in the 200 block of Spruce Street was smashed.
• 6:29 p.m. Jan. 9: Unspecified criminal mischief was done to a vehicle in the 300 block of South Second Avenue.
• 8 a.m., Jan. 13: A car was vandalized while it was parked in the 300 block of Tulpehocken Avenue.
• 11:38 a.m. Jan. 15: A vehicle was vandalized in the 400 block of Sunset Road.
• 8:42 a.m. Jan. 16: A vehicle was damaged in the 600 block of Franklin Street.
• 9:32 a.m. Jan. 16: Someone reported criminal mischief done to a vehicle parked on Franklin Street.
• 2:13 p.m. Jan. 16: a vehicle was vandalized while parked overnight in the 200 block of Kent Way.

Windows broken at West Reading business

The owner of a garage in the 700 block of Penn Avenue in West Reading called police about 11:10 a.m. Jan. 5, upon discovering that someone had broken windows at the business.

Garage door tagged in West Reading

A West Reading woman called police about 4:18 p.m. Sept. 30 after discovering someone had tagged the garage door of her home in the 200 block of Olive Street with graffiti. No witnesses saw the "artists" in the act.

Lawn ornaments stolen from West Reading home

Keep an eye out for wandering gnomes: Someone stole lawn ornaments July 13 from a home in the 400 block of Oak Terrace in West Reading. Borough police took a report in case the stolen items (which, of course, may not have actually been gnomes) are found.

Christmas decoration stolen from West Reading yard

A West Reading woman called police about 5:54 a.m. Jan. 3 after discovering a large, inflatable Christmas decoration she'd installed the yard of her home in the 400 block of Playground Drive was now missing.

Vandals destroy Christmas decorations in West Reading

A West Reading resident called police at 9:39 a.m. Dec. 26 to report someone had broken off the tops of some candy cane ornaments staked in her yard in the 300 block of Sunset Road (the same block as another, well-known holiday display). A neighbor told the victim the ornaments had been intact as of 9:30 p.m. the night before, when he as out walking his dog.

Student faces charges following joy ride inside store

A Penn State University student decided to take a motorized cart for a spin about 7 p.m. Nov. 18 inside a Redner's Warehouse Market in the 1100 block of Berkshire Boulevard in Wyomissing. Her jaunt ended when she crashed the cart into a freezer door, shattering the glass. Police will file charges once they know how much the freezer door will cost to replace.

Woman discovers damage to car in Wyomissing parking lot

A woman returned to her vehicle after an hour at about 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in the parking lot of Gold's Gym, in the 1100 block of Bern Road in Wyomissing. The vehicle was in anything but great shape; someone had keyed it, causing $1,000 worth of damage. The victim told police she didn't see anyone suspicious and doesn't know anyone who would vandalize her car.

Children face charges after throwing rocks off bridge

Two vehicles traveling about 7 p.m. May 28 beneath a railroad bridge overpass on the West Shore Bypass were struck by flying stones. One driver spotted a boy on the railroad bridge and called Wyomissing police. Officers from West Reading also responded, and police arrested the three 10-year-old boys who were trespassing on the railroad bridge. They were all released to their mothers and face charges through juvenile court.

Police arrest suspect in brick-throwing case

A West Reading man faces charges after his arrest April 20 in the borough. Police received a report about 6:12 p.m. that someone had thrown a brick through the window of a mini mart in the 500 block of Penn Avenue. Officers were tipped to someone matching the suspect’s description in an alley nearby. They arrested the 18-year-old suspect and charged him with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. He was jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Window broken in vehicle parked in Wyomissing

A woman went out to her car about 3:23 p.m. March 27 that was parked in the first block of George Avenue in Wyomissing and discovered someone threw a large rock through the rear driver's side window. She told police the vandal or vandals must have struck sometime between 12:30 a.m. And 3:15 p.m. that day.

Wyomissing man jailed on arson charges

A man turned himself in to police about 5:47 a.m. March 2 after reportedly telling them he tried to blow up a vehicle in the 300 block of Abington Drive in the borough. Police found evidence of an attempted arson and the suspect, a 37-year-old Wyomissing resident, was arrested. He was charged with two counts of criminal mischief and one count each of arson, attempted arson and risking catastrophe. He was jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Pellet guns fired at home, vehicle in Wyomissing

About 5:05 a.m. March 3, a Wyomissing resident noticed the rear window of a vehicle shattered and dents in its vehicle as it was parked in the 700 block of North Wyomissing Boulevard.

The day before, about 6:10 p.m. March 2, a resident in the first block of Goldfinch Drive told police pellets had damaged four windows of his home.

Accusatory, misspelled note left on woman’s vehicle

A woman had her vehicle parked in front of her boyfriend’s home in the early afternoon of Dec. 30 in the first block of Merrymount Road in Wyomissing. When she returned to the vehicle she found a note that read “Liar Cheater Adultier” placed on her windshield. The woman told police she suspects her soon-to-be ex-husband. The officer told her to consider getting a protection-from-abuse order, just in case.

Halloween brings out pranksters, vandals

• Two tires were slashed sometime between the night of Oct. 30 and the morning of Oct. 31 on a car parked in the 1400 block of Delaware Avenue in Wyomissing.

• A vehicle parked in the 1000 block of Terrace Avenue was shot seven times with a pellet gun sometime before 10:28 a.m. Oct. 31.

• Someone threw a pumpkin about 11:12 p.m. Oct. 31 into the street in the 1600 block of Museum Road in Wyomissing. The flying gourd struck a vehicle driving by but didn’t damage it.

• Wyomissing police stopped a dozen kids about 9:45 p.m. in the 1200 block of Dauphin Avenue in the borough. The officers searched the kids’ backpacks and found rolls of toilet paper and cans of Silly String. The pranksters were sent on their way, but the report doesn’t say if their tools were confiscated.

• Police stopped three teenage boys who were suspected of smashing pumpkins about 11:17 p.m. Oct. 30 in the 1600 block of Garfield Avenue in Wyomissing. The boys denied having anything to do with it and the person who called police couldn’t identify the suspects.