North Vancouver RCMP are looking for some alleged vandals who painted the interior of a newly built North Vancouver home like a Jackson Pollock painting.
Police say the suspect or suspects gained access to the house on the 2100-block of MacKay Avenue sometime after workers left on Monday evening. When the contractor, who also owns the home, arrived Tuesday morning he found someone had run amok in the house, dumping 15 cans of paint over the walls, hardwood floors, carpets, counters, toilets and appliances.
“It’s beyond devastating,” said Dennis Doherty, general manager of Apex Western Homes and owner of the property.
Doherty was planning to list the new home for sale sometime after the Labour Day long weekend. Now that’s been pushed back indefinitely while he deals with insurance and having to rehire subcontractors to come back and redo much of their work.
Initial estimates from police investigators peg the damage at around $80,000, as the appliances will have to be thrown out, drywall replaced and floors redone.
“It’s malicious. It’s intentional,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
Police are now trying to figure out who targeted the home and why.
“That’s the $80,000 question,” De Jong said. “They’re talking to contractors, neighbours, seeing if there’s video coverage of something around the building in the middle of the night. It’s still in the early stages of trying to figure this out exactly.”
Doherty has his own theory – nearby teenagers. About two weeks ago, the home was targeted for minor vandalism on the exterior, Doherty said, though that incident wasn’t reported to police.
“Are there any subcontractors or previous clients or anybody else who may have a vendetta they’d like to execute? We thought about it and there isn’t anybody,” he said. “We believe it’s two teenagers because we have two sets of footprints.”
The RCMP’s forensics team has swept through the house to collect evidence. Doherty said he hopes the culprits will do the right thing before the police catch up with them.
“Somebody needs to take responsibility for what they’ve done. They need to have that understanding for starters and accept the consequences of whatever’s coming their way,” he said.
The home is now being fitted with surveillance cameras and Doherty has hired more on-site security at his other job sites.
De Jong said it’s likely the suspects came home with paint on their clothes and shoes. And possibly, they may be bragging among friends about the act, he added.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311 or make an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
