Santa Cruz residents voice frustration over string of tire slashing incidents

The month of March didn’t start off well for some residents in Santa Cruz after a string of tire slashing incidents in one area of the city.

It happened on Trinity Street and Leibrandt Avenue in the Beach Flats neighborhood the first weekend of March as at least nine cars had their tires slashed.

The man responsible got away but was spotted by the guest of a nearby hotel. The man returned the next day to slash tires again.

“It was basically like every other person’s car had tires slashed,” says Santa Cruz resident Christine Sampson. “Some cars it was just one or two tires, another few cars had all four tires popped.”

Sampson and another resident who spoke to KION were the lucky ones who didn’t have their tires slashed because they were away from home at the time of the incident.

For Sampson it was all luck, as she says it would’ve cost her quite a lot to just change the one tire.

“On my type of car, one tire could cost up to $100,” Sampson says. “If you have a large truck or vehicle and all four tires are slashed you could easily be looking at close to $1,000.”

Sally Rutherford says vandals have hit the Beach Flats neighborhood before. That time cars were spray painted as well as buildings in the area.

Sampson says she doesn’t know if a suspect has been caught yet, but hopes Santa Cruz Police capture this vandal and anyone else she believes is disruptive of the peace of any neighborhood.