A 64-year-old man was arrested for allegedly vandalizing a neighbor's home in Westlake on Thursday, according to a report from the Westlake Police Department.
According to the report, the department received a vandalism complaint from a Westlake resident at approximately 7:01 a.m., who said an older man had spray-painted her house. Two officers were dispatched to the neighborhood.
When the officers arrived, they noticed the word a**hole spray-painted on the resident's garage door, the report said.
The resident told police the incident was caught on her Ring camera.
Westlake Police said that around 4:55 a.m., the 64-year-old poured a white substance that is believed to be sugar into the gas tank of the car in the resident's driveway. He then spray-painted profanity on the garage and in front of the woman's residence.
The man also spray-painted the front-facing windows, the main entrance and the Ring camera once he noticed it was there, according to the report.
The woman told police that one year ago, she and her husband were involved in a car crash with the 64-year-old man, and she said that she believes he's responsible for the vandalism.
According to the report, police found two plastic Ziploc bags filled with the same white substance that was poured into the gas tank on the roof of the car. An empty spray paint can was found on the ground near the car, along with a pair of clear plastic gloves and another spray can in front of the garage. A reusable grocery bag filled with two more spray cans was found around the front of the house.
Westlake Police said they later spoke to the man as part of their investigation, and he admitted to spray-painting his neighbor's home and blacking out her front windows. He also added that he poured sugar in the car's gas tank in her driveway.
The man also added that he was not happy with how the car accident from a year ago was handled and said that was the reason that he vandalized her house.
The report noted that the 64-year-old had the same backpack as the one in the surveillance footage and contained the same plastic gloves, grocery bag, sugar residue and a funnel.
The man was arrested and transported to the Westlake Police Department Jail for booking.
A few neighbors who did want to be identified said they weren't surprised when they heard what happened to the victims' home.
"I wasn't surprised, I was appalled and afraid, but because of the pattern of the erratic behavior we have seen as members of his neighborhood, I wasn't surprised at all," said a community member.
For months, neighbors said they have been living in fear and have called the police on the 64-year-old for separate incidents.
"I was scared, my wife was scared and I know the neighbors are scared because we never knew what he was capable of doing," said a community member.
And now that the suspect is in jail facing multiple charges, neighbors are hoping the behavior they have witnessed has come to an end.
