Keyed Cars a Costly Problem in one Champaign Neighborhood

In a quiet neighborhood in Southwest Champaign homeowners often dont think twice about leaving their houses unlocked if theyre home, let alone leaving their cars outside, but now some are rethinking that decision. “They went right down the side of her car and her window. It must have been like a glass-cutter because it cut right into the window,” says Richard Slade as he looks at his wife’s car. It has swear words scratched in the windows, and someone keyed lines all the way down the drivers’ side. The worst part—it wasnt the only one. Police say the first call came in early Sunday morning on Crescent Drive. The next was on the corner of Clover and Barberry Lane. Police thought it would end there, but then a neighbor took them on a walk down this street to show them all the cars that had been hit. There were seven in total. "Its usually very quiet here,” says neighbor Gail Hutchcraft. “There havent been any problems here that I know about." Until now. Police say theres more than $10,000 dollars in damage to the cars on these streets. Some have scratches so deep theyre down to the primer. And then theres whats written in these peoples paint. Someone keyed everything from curse words to a gang sign on the side of these cars. Some say its surprising; others say its nothing new. “Every vehicle I’ve ever owned has been vandalized since Ive been here,” Slade says. “It was really no shock to me.” But one thing is for sure; this is a hassle for those who were hit and for those who are hoping it wont happen to them. “I thought about getting a bigger light,” Hutchcraft says. “I’ll keep my car closer to the house now.”