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Huge reward offered for arrest of tree farm vandals

Owner offering $5,000 for info leading to arrest of those responsible
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The giant lit cross that overlooks the Mountain Ridge Tree Farms was targeted by vandals over the weekend. There is a $5

Terry Farrell

Record staff

Erich Penner of Mountain Ridge Tree Farms thinks there is a breaking point to the idium “honour among thieves.”

In fact, he’s banking on it.

Penner’s business was targeted by vandals on Friday night. The responsible person or people caused approximately $1,000 damage to the massive lit cross that overlooks the tree farm across from the Sunnydale Golf Course on the Old Island Highway.

“I woke up at two (Saturday) morning and the cross was out,” he said. “So I went up there at daybreak and had a look. Somebody had cut all the rope lights, from the bottom, to as high as they could reach, with an axe and chopped it up into little pieces. Then when I came down (to the front entrance), the sign was damaged out front on the highway and some glass broken in the middle of the parking lot.”

 

Someone knows who did it. Penner thinks he has a way of getting them to talk.

“I’ve posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible,” he said. “This is about the third or fourth time it has happened – twice this year. I’m tired of it. I want it to stop, before they get into more expensive things, or someone gets hurt.”

 

The reward far outweighs the amount of damage done, and Penner says there’s a reason for that.

“I want to catch the guys and for five grand, their friends won’t back them up. For that kind of money, they’ll turn their buddy in.”

If anyone has any information on the vandalism, they can contact Crimestoppers, at 1-800-222-8477.

editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com