Naperville police arrest five teens for vandalism

Naperville police have arrested five teens in connection with a vandalism spree last weekend in the city's southeast vehicle impound lot.

Two 15-year-olds and three 13-year-olds have each been charged with one count each of criminal damage to property and criminal trespassing. They were processed at the city's detention facility Tuesday and released to the custody of their parents, police said today. They were not named because of their ages.

The vandalism was discovered Saturday and affected nearly 80 vehicles. Some of those vehicles were set on fire, some had windows broken, doors dented or other cosmetic damage, police said.

Police believe the damage occurred over a two-week span.

"A higher level of security will likely be implemented," Cmdr. Dave Hoffman said.

At 5:23 p.m. Tuesday, city workers spotted a number of youngsters inside the impound lot atop some of the vehicles. Police were called to the scene where they were able to nab the five as they fled on foot, Hoffman said.

During the interrogation, it was determined several other youngsters probably also were involved in the vandalism.

"I can't comment on the content of the interviews, but police are following up on other leads to identify and charge additional individuals," Hoffman said.

The vehicles stored in the lot are there for a variety of reasons, Hoffman said. Some are abandoned, seized or damaged in a crash. Some were slated to be on the city's auction block this weekend. Hoffman was unsure of the impact on that auction caused by the vandalism.