Officials: 3 teens cited in draining of Carol Stream fountain

Three teens have been cited for trespassing after authorities said they drained roughly 60,000 gallons of water from the fountain in Carol Stream's Ross Ferraro Town Center.

Meanwhile, police continue to investigate another case where at least one vandal damaged construction equipment being used for a flood-control project at Armstrong Park.

Deputy Chief John Jungers said the teens in the Town Center incident are all 17 or younger and were cited under village ordinance. They are accused of wading into the fountain late on July 3, turning a valve and draining it of water that then flowed underground into nearby ponds.

While there was no damage to the town's signature fountain, crews spent much of the Fourth of July filling it back up.

Village Manager Joe Breinig said officials are calculating how much it cost to replenish the fountain and determining possible penalties in the case.

When the village drains the fountain for the winter, officials also will consider steps to make the valve less accessible. Currently, it can only be seen by stepping into the fountain, Breinig said.

Police don't believe the teens acted maliciously.

"They didn't really know the repercussions of (turning the valve)," Jungers said.

The damage at Armstrong Park, where DuPage County is in the homestretch of a $12.5 million project to alleviate flooding in neighborhoods, appears deliberate, a county board member has said.

Contractors didn't report the vandalism to police, who were instead alerted by the county.

"This is just not vandalism," county board member Jim Zay said last month. "This is someone actually trying to sabotage the project."

Zay said there have been several acts of vandalism over several months, including broken windshields, doors and lights. Trees and bushes also were found neatly lined up inside a 60-inch pipe that's supposed to carry floodwater out of the park on Illini Drive.

But Jungers said the contractors told them "this is typical damage that they see on construction sites."

Police have increased patrols in the area, Jungers said, and there have been no recent reports of additional vandalism at Armstrong Park.

He said police have canvassed the neighborhood and asked anyone with information to call police at (630) 668-2167. At this point, he said, investigators have "zero leads."

• Daily Herald Staff Writer Robert Sanchez contributed to this report