Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego car vandals – getting bolder?

Tesla Cybertruck throws down the gauntlet

Shattered windows — the most common type of auto vandalism
Shattered windows — the most common type of auto vandalism

When Jacob T. came outside from his Kensington home on October 16, ready to go to work, he found his truck smeared with what appeared to be mud. After a closer look, it became clear that the substance was something worse. He posted photos online, writing, "This happened in the alleyway. Someone shat all over my car." Unable to bring himself to clean the mess before work, he instead ordered a Lyft. Comments poured in online, with some expressing sympathy and others suggesting it might be retaliation. One asked, "Did you not clean up after your dog?" to which Jacob replied, "I don’t have a dog."

Jacob's neighbor, Laura, added that this behavior wasn’t new to their area. "There was a time when someone rubbed their poop all over the walls of this parking garage, and I had to ask the property manager to send maintenance to clean it." Anne from University Heights — about two miles west of Jacob — shared that a vandal also smeared excrement on her car’s door handles.

"That's the lowest thing you can do — is to s#it on someone's ride!" said John Garcia of City Heights in a recent interview. "People have been messing with my old Honda because I won't sell it." Over the past year, Garcia has come out to find flat tires, a broken windshield, and notes on his replaced windshield asking if he'll sell the car. "These people are vandalizing my car in hopes that I'll sell it for cheap because of the damage they or their buddies just caused. It's a vandalizing scam."


Sponsored
Sponsored

In August, Sebastiano Lopez from Hillcrest posted on NextDoor about teenagers he had seen jumping on cars and vandalizing them. "These teens were jumping on cars and doing stuff to cars and recording for social media," he wrote. "If you recognize any kids or if they’re your kids, teach them vandalizing property isn’t right."

Social media is filled with posts from frustrated users reporting shattered windows — the most common type of auto vandalism. Thieves frequently break windows to test if a car has an alarm. If the alarm doesn’t sound, they rummage through the vehicle, stealing whatever they can find.

Wendy L., from Little Italy, shared her ongoing frustration: “I’ve been through windows, mirrors, and windshield wipers being smashed or torn off. My hood even has a knife wound.”

Some locals suggested that victims check with Tesla owners in the area to check footage from their Tesla's Sentry Mode, a feature that records suspicious activity around the car.

San Diego’s love-hate relationship with the new Tesla Cybertruck has drawn vandalism. Known for its unusual stainless steel design, the Cybertruck’s supposedly “bulletproof” body has inspired vandals to put it to the test. One such incident occurred in Ocean Beach in May, where a vandal was caught on camera throwing rocks at a parked Cybertruck. A local confronted the vandal, yelling, “Hey, what the [expletive]!”

In March, CBS 8 San Diego reported on a string of cars throughout the county that spray painted and had broken windows.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How Much Time Do I Get With My BetterHelp Therapist?

Next Article

The greatest symphonist of them all

Havergal Brian wrote over 30 of them
Shattered windows — the most common type of auto vandalism
Shattered windows — the most common type of auto vandalism

When Jacob T. came outside from his Kensington home on October 16, ready to go to work, he found his truck smeared with what appeared to be mud. After a closer look, it became clear that the substance was something worse. He posted photos online, writing, "This happened in the alleyway. Someone shat all over my car." Unable to bring himself to clean the mess before work, he instead ordered a Lyft. Comments poured in online, with some expressing sympathy and others suggesting it might be retaliation. One asked, "Did you not clean up after your dog?" to which Jacob replied, "I don’t have a dog."

Jacob's neighbor, Laura, added that this behavior wasn’t new to their area. "There was a time when someone rubbed their poop all over the walls of this parking garage, and I had to ask the property manager to send maintenance to clean it." Anne from University Heights — about two miles west of Jacob — shared that a vandal also smeared excrement on her car’s door handles.

"That's the lowest thing you can do — is to s#it on someone's ride!" said John Garcia of City Heights in a recent interview. "People have been messing with my old Honda because I won't sell it." Over the past year, Garcia has come out to find flat tires, a broken windshield, and notes on his replaced windshield asking if he'll sell the car. "These people are vandalizing my car in hopes that I'll sell it for cheap because of the damage they or their buddies just caused. It's a vandalizing scam."


Sponsored
Sponsored

In August, Sebastiano Lopez from Hillcrest posted on NextDoor about teenagers he had seen jumping on cars and vandalizing them. "These teens were jumping on cars and doing stuff to cars and recording for social media," he wrote. "If you recognize any kids or if they’re your kids, teach them vandalizing property isn’t right."

Social media is filled with posts from frustrated users reporting shattered windows — the most common type of auto vandalism. Thieves frequently break windows to test if a car has an alarm. If the alarm doesn’t sound, they rummage through the vehicle, stealing whatever they can find.

Wendy L., from Little Italy, shared her ongoing frustration: “I’ve been through windows, mirrors, and windshield wipers being smashed or torn off. My hood even has a knife wound.”

Some locals suggested that victims check with Tesla owners in the area to check footage from their Tesla's Sentry Mode, a feature that records suspicious activity around the car.

San Diego’s love-hate relationship with the new Tesla Cybertruck has drawn vandalism. Known for its unusual stainless steel design, the Cybertruck’s supposedly “bulletproof” body has inspired vandals to put it to the test. One such incident occurred in Ocean Beach in May, where a vandal was caught on camera throwing rocks at a parked Cybertruck. A local confronted the vandal, yelling, “Hey, what the [expletive]!”

In March, CBS 8 San Diego reported on a string of cars throughout the county that spray painted and had broken windows.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village
Next Article

Live Five: Andrew Peña, Frankie J, Beat Farmers, Jesse LaMonaca, Puddles Pity Party

Latin, roots rock, and pity parties in Mission Beach, Little Italy, El Cajon
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader