Car vandals hit Calabasas neighborhood

A rash of car vandalism has plagued the Bird Streets area of Calabasas. Residents say they are being targeted weekly by tire slashers.

The recent attacks have occurred over the past four weeks on Thursday and Friday nights, and many residents of the Bird Streets, most of whom live on Black Bird and Humming Bird ways, have been victimized on more than one occasion.

Ted Ball has lived in the area, which is near Calabasas High School, for nearly 25 years. He said the first incident was July 23, followed by another attack a week later. A week was skipped, said Ball, but the vandals were back last Friday. Each night, Ball said he’s heard of four to eight victims.

“I’ve been doing some surveillance on my own,” Ball said. “There’s a couple renegades in the neighborhood.”

Ball has been the victim of the vandals on all three occasions he’s heard about. Each night, one of his tires was slashed. But he said many of his neighbors’ cars had each of their tires slashed.

On the second night, Ball saw the defacers being scared off by a neighbor unexpectedly arriving home.

“We’ve never had a problem in this area,” Ball said. “It’s gotten to be a costly thing. There are kids out there with substantial knifes. They’re getting a little brazen.”

Resident Christy Reeves said she was concerned.

“My tires weren’t slashed, but (my neighbor’s) were, and we ended up driving up and down the street and noted hit after hit,” said Christy Reeves. “Moe (Barkhordar) and I counted 14 tires in one night last week.”

Barkhordar confirmed that he had had two tires slashed on one night.

Sgt. Eric Lasko of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department only had five incidents reported, all in the early morning hours of Aug. 22. He did, however, acknowledge the increase.

“It seems like a big spurt on that street,” Lasko said. “It’s not typically in the area here.”

Lasko said that since the area is near Calabasas High School, officers have reached out to students.

“Right now we have no suspects,” Lasko said. “Our juvenile team has spoken to some kids to see if they can gain any information. And we’ve beefed up patrol efforts in the area.”

Residents of the area are concerned that not all of the victims are reporting the crime.

“I don’t know if people know that others are being hit,” Reeves said. “A couple I know down street didn’t realize so many other people had been hit. It’s such a small housing area. Everyone sort of knows each other. It would behoove us to pay attention and stay alert.

“You don’t sleep quite as well,” Reeves added. “You just think, ‘Thursday or Friday is going to roll around soon.”

Ball staked out the scene one night after he felt there had been a “poor response” from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department. He did add that last week there was added police presence in the neighborhood.

Residents in the area said they noticed an increase deputy patrols.