Dozens of car tires slashed at Bellevue condo complex



BELLEVUE - It’s been a frustrating weekend for residents in a Bellevue condo complex. Dozens of them woke up to find out that their car tires slashed. Police are now trying to figure out who did it and why.

When Greg Waters came out to his car yesterday morning, he knew something had happened.

“I saw 4 tow trucks in the parking lot. I thought what the heck, are that many people having car trouble? I don’t think so.”

His neighbor said his tires had been slashed overnight. So Waters checked his family’s cars.

“Sure enough, I got 4 cars here and they got 7 tires.”

Even though he has insurance, waters says the repairs are going to be expensive.

“When you puncture a tire in the sidewall, it’s no good. You have to get brand new tires.”

Police think the vandals got to at least twenty cars at Forest Glades Condos, puncturing multiple tires on each car. Because regular size tires won’t fit on his Smart Car, Thomas Ledbetter can’t do anything until he can get to a dealership later this week.

“It’s frustrating, definitely frustrating. It just causes inconvenience for me and all my neighbors.”

Ledbetter’s heard about car break-ins in the past, but he doesn’t understand why someone would just slash tires.

“It’s vandalism, it’s not helpful to anybody,” he says. “They’re not trying to gain anything from it, people who just want to commit crime.”

Right now, there’s no gate to the condo complex, and no surveillance cameras in the parking lot. Waters says he and his neighbors have already been talking about whether they might need to make some changes.

“I know some people are going to get upset and try to do something, as far as security cameras.”

Ledbetter isn’t so sure.

“This is usually a pretty safe place, that’s one of the reasons I moved here. I’m hoping we don’t need it, I’m hoping something like this doesn’t happen again.”

Police do have a description of possible suspects. They say a black woman was seen driving a newer model black Nissan Sentra with a young, light skinned black man who had red tint afro style hair. He was wearing a light colored baseball hat and a dark colored sweatshirt. If you have any information that could help, you’re asked to call Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS.