Graffiti was painted on a wall at Canyon Ridge Middle School in Steiner Ranch and reported to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday around 4:30 p.m. (Image has been blurred.)

Rash of graffiti, vandalism, trespass, mischief cases reported

By SARAH DOOLITTLE
Four Points News

Officials at Canyon Ridge Middle School reported vandalism at the school on March 25 to the Travis County Sheriff’s Department. This is the second incidence of graffiti at the school in five months, in late October, 2016, graphic graffiti was painted on an exterior wall.

The sheriff’s department confirmed that they are investigating.

“The case has been assigned to a detective… This is a problem that has happened several times at the school, and the school has installed video cameras to help with the problem.” said Kristen Dark, TCSO spokesperson.

There has been a recent spate of graffiti in areas surrounding Four Points. “This is very uncommon for our jurisdiction,” explained Dark.

In addition to CRMS’s incident on Country Trails Lane on Saturday, graffiti cases were reported on March 23 at 10:33 a.m. in the 10400 block of RM 2222 and on March 22 at 10:28 a.m. in the 6600 block of Sitio Del Rio Blvd. On March 20, two more cases were reported on RM 22222, one at 7:43 a.m. in the 10600 block and one at 12:21 p.m. in the 10800 block.

There have been been other cases over the past week or so that appear to be similar in nature to graffiti or that tend to involve young people. At least seven cases have been filed involving reports of criminal trespassing, criminal mischief and vandalism in the Four Points area. (Cases listed on page 5.)

“The community is our eyes and ears,” emphasized Dark, and she encourages local residents to support the sheriff’s department’s work. “We can’t be there all the time, and so we count on residents to know their neighborhood and know what’s unusual. If you see that kind of activity, while it’s happening, please call 9-1-1.”

Specifically about the CRMS incident, Dark said graffiti being done to schools is not common in Steiner Ranch, “but this is a problem that is common across schools,” she said. “Mostly the people who do this are probably kids, after hours and on weekends, and we experience this on pretty much every campus that we deal with.”

Susan Sullivan, CRMS principal, echoed the sentiments of many in the community on social media when she expressed, “how deeply disappointed I am in these students.”

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office expects that cameras, “should increase our ability to figure out who’s doing these things,” Dark said. As this time, they do not have a suspect, nor do they know if this incident is related to previous ones.

Lynette Haaland contributed to this report.