Tires slashed on 59 vehicles in West Philly, $10K reward offered

WEST PHILADELPHIA - January 7, 2013 (WPVI) -- A reward is now being offered in the hunt for the vandals who slashed the tires on 59 vehicles in West Philadelphia.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey announced Monday that a $5,000 reward is being offered for the arrest and conviction of those responsible, courtesy of the Mayor's office.

An additional $5,000 is being offered by Fraternal Order of Police President John McNesby for the arrest of the person or persons responsible.

The tire slashings occurred around 5:30 a.m. Monday along the 5300 block of Chancellor Street, and again several blocks away on the 4900 and 5100 blocks of Hazel Avenue.

"We're all working class families and every dollar counts. It's after the holidays, it's the last thing you want to deal with," West Philadelphia resident Erik Gorbsky said.

Surveillance video captured the suspected tire slashers at work. In the video, you can see a man and a woman casually walking down the street, and at one point the man can be seen stooping to quickly puncture two tires on a vehicle.

The victims have a few choice words for whomever did it.

"Stupid. Dumb. Ignorant. For no reason," said resident Chuck Barry.

Last fall, a Mayfair neighborhood was plagued by a tire slasher for weeks. Now residents of this neighborhood in West Philadelphia are dealing with the same expense and inconvenience.

Police went from car to car, dusting for fingerprints and gathering whatever evidence they could.

Commissioner Ramsey says he's confident whoever did this will be caught and pay a stiff price.

"This is something very major in my mind because it's something that affects people right in the pocketbook," Ramsey said.

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philadelphia, west philadelphia, vandalism, local/state

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