Vandals "Egg" Nearly 80 Vehicles

What may seem like a harmless prank could turn into some serious charges for the five people allegedly involved. Owensboro police say people went out to find at least 78 cars egged Friday morning. The whole incident has some neighbors asking why anyone would want to do this.

"There's not a law against being stupid, and people just don't think when they do stuff like that," said Michael Atherton, who has lived on Chickasaw Drive in Owensboro for the last 12 years. "I don't understand that kind of behavior." Atherton and his neighbors woke up to find eggs coating vehicles and their shells littering the streets in the Town and Country Subdivision near Frederica Street.

"Adults are supposed to lead youngsters to do good things and right things. This goes beyond being stupid," he said.

Owensboro Police found the people they say are responsible for the vandalism during neighborhood patrols just after midnight Friday. After questioning, police made the arrests.

"Kids are out of school, and out and about and hanging out a little more than they do in the school year. So we do typically see a rise in this kind of thing this time of year," said Officer Michael Hathaway of the Owensboro Police Dept.

Innocent prank or not, Atherton doesn't see the offenders as too innocent. He says the adults should know better, and the juveniles should be taught a thing or two about respecting other people's property.

"I think they should have to clean up all the vehicles that they egged," Atherton said. "And I think they should have to write a letter in the newspaper describing who they are and why they did what they did." As people in the neighborhood work to clean up the mess these vandals left behind, Atherton says he wonders what the world is coming to and why a group of people would want to cause some much damage.

"That flag up there says men and women have fought and died so people have the right to do silly things like what this was," Atherton said, referencing the American Flag flying in his front yard. "But I don't remember ever growing up and even thinking about doing stuff like that."

The five people are charged with Criminal Mischief. Police are still investigating to see how much monetary damage was made. If the damage is high enough, they could serve jail time. Plus, if every vehicle owner comes forward to press charges, they could face 78 counts of criminal mischief, each. The identities of the suspects have not yet been released.