UPDATE: Teen pleads not guilty to 2014 Aptos vandalism charges

UPDATE 10/21/15 5:09 PM: An 18-year-old arrested on vandalism charges stemming from a case in Aptos last November was in court Wednesday morning, according to the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said Joseph Smith, 18, pleaded not guilty to smashing cars and lighting three on fire last November. Two 17-year-olds were also arrested. Smith is expected to be back in court October 28.

UPDATE 10/20/15 2:58 PM: The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has arrested three teens in connection to last year’s Aptos car vandalism spree. The sheriff’s office says they’re responsible for vandalizing 16 cars and setting three more on fire back in November of 2014.

Investigators said two 17-year-olds and Joseph Smith, 18, were arrested after a concerned citizen came forward with information on the case.

Detectives immediately began working the case last year, collecting evidence on-scene, canvassing the neighborhood and studying surveillance video.

Once the community member came forward with the information in April, they began tracking the three teens down. The two 17-year-olds were arrested in Santa Cruz.

As for Smith, he was a bit harder to find. During the course of the investigation, Smith joined the Navy. Santa Cruz detectives worked with the Navy to track him down and eventually flew to Pensacola, Florida, where they arrested him.

Smith is now back in Santa Cruz, but out on bail. He faces arson and felony vandalism charges.

The sheriff’s office had been working on this case for nearly a year and say this is a great example of the community and law enforcement working together.

The damage from the vandalism spree totaled more than $100,000, and both upset and outraged the neighborhood.

Aptos resident Gunilla Leavitt’s car was torched, and what she lost is irreplaceable. Her grandfather was a goldsmith and she had some of his tools in her car.

“It’s hard,” she said. “It was a super traumatic experience. Like 4 in the morning, someone is ringing the doorbell going, ‘your car is on fire.'”

At this time, detectives don’t know why the suspects did this.

For Leavitt, the arrests bring some closure, but she still wants to know why.

“I can get someone breaking into my car and stealing it for money. Even if it’s money for drugs I don’t care because there’s like some sort of sense to that. But just destroying my things for the sake of destroying my things, that’s just not cool.”

PREVIOUS STORY: According to the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office said nearly cars were vandalized Saturday night into Sunday morning in Aptos. Three of those cars were set on fire.

The damage totaled over $100,000.

Sheriff deputies got a call about 5:30am for three vehicle fires near Townsend Drive in Aptos.

Deputies found two cars on fire on Townsend and the third car on fire on Aptos Beach Drive.

As they began to search the area, deputies say they found 13 more vehicles that had some sort of damage in. They then found another seven they believe to be connected to this vandalism spree.

Streets with vandalized cars included Townsend, Cliff, Bonita, Miranda, Oakdale, and Seacliff Drive.

None of the cars were burglarized. Deputies also found damaged mailboxes.

Detectives found two gas cans, burned road flares, and a broken bat all in various areas of the vandalism.

Crime scene investigators are checking that evidence for DNA and fingerprints and are also hoping to get any home or business surveillance video.

Investigators say they aren’t sure but are going on the assumption that there is more than one suspect at this time.