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Vandals destroy mailboxes
By Justin Goble
A recent wave of vandalism has left more than 10 local residents with damaged or destroyed mailboxes.
According to Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe, 12 incidents of mailbox vandalism occurred in the late night hours of Wednesday, Jan. 17, and the early morning of Thursday, Jan. 18.
Incidents were reported in Caney Fork, Kitchens Branch, Little Savannah and Cullowhee Forest communities, Ashe said.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “Someone went on a ‘smashing spree.’ They took some object and went around smashing mailboxes throughout the county.”
Aside from reports that the vehicle used in the crimes had a “very loud muffler,” Ashe said there were no leads for his officers to follow.
“We’ve increased patrols knowing that this has happened, but it’s hard to handle, because people don’t report it immediately,” Ashe said. “It usually happens when most decent, law-abiding people are at home in bed, and they don’t know that anything has happened until the morning after. And it only really takes a moment to smash a mailbox.”
Ashe said residents could use local “Community Watch” programs to network and keep vandalism like this from occurring again. People should also call the Sheriff’s Office at the first sign on anything wrong, Ashe said.
“People really need to report anything suspicious immediately,” Ashe said. “With some of the calls we had, people said they were hesitant to call because they didn’t think too much of it.”
Anyone with information about the incidents should call the Sheriff’s Office at 586-4355; the CrimeStoppers hotline at 631-1125; or visit sheriff.jacksonnc.org.
An unspecified reward is being offered for any information that leads to an arrest, Ashe said.
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