ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Vandals have done damage at a local soccer park four times in the past two weeks, the most recent incident took place Sunday night when they set part of the field on fire.
The vandals also destroyed golf carts and made a mess at Veterans Park in Northern St. Johns County, near County Road 210.
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The soccer field and park is owned by the county, but the equipment is owned by the soccer club.
“I am mad. It is beautiful around here. This is our home,” said Erick Sykes, a frequent visitor to the park. “We come here for the kids and enjoy our time here.”
The vandals also broke into a shed in the back of the park and wreaked havoc, starting a fire on the field, burning a goal. The remnants of aerosol can which exploded in the fire were left behind. The damage is significant.
The park's employees believe the vandals spent a long time doing the damage. One of the big reasons is because the vandals actually cut out the fuel tank from the back of the golf cart and used the gasoline inside to start the fire on the turf.
Officials said this is the fourth time the park had been vandalized in the past two weeks. People keep breaking into the sheds, owned by the non-profit Florida Elite Soccer Academy. The hooligans have taken the club's golf carts for joy ride, doing donuts, smashing them and eventually driving them into a pond.
A shaved ice cart was also a target. The vandals broke in, stole the syrup and then put it in the fuel tank of a tractor. The total damage is estimated to be anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000.
“I would say probably to do this repair on this field alone is probably going to be about $20,000. As a whole, to build this from scratch, $100,000,” said Jerry Della Porta with Florida Elite Soccer Academy.
Della Porta continued to describe the effects.
“This being shut down will affect some of the teams,” Della Porta said. “Mostly some of the younger teams practicing, getting ready for any tournaments they've got coming up.”
About 2,400 kids use the field and now children are wondering why someone would do this.
“We have nice fields and a great place to play soccer here and we don’t want people screwing that up,” said Jake Grubbs, a soccer player. “The people who use this park want to make it clear this is unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Sykes believe better parenting is partially to blame.
“Absolutely better parenting,” Sykes said. “That is the number one thing, control your kids.”
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and the local fire marshal are investigating. A county spokesperson said there have been up to six total incidents at three different parks in the northern part of the county. Officials said they're doing everything they can to put a stop to this.
There is video of a vehicle in the park during the time frame of the vandalism. Detectives are looking at it right now. The soccer club is also offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.