An e-mail from St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne attempted to shed some light on a string of incidents that he considers to be isolated acts of vandalism and theft related partly to parish schools being out of session for spring break holidays. Champagne said there have been a small number of minor incidents of vandalism around the parish such as the attempted theft of outdoor speakers from Destrehan Elementary School and CDs stolen from unlocked cars in the Norco area.
“We attribute these incidents to a very few school-aged youngsters with too much time on their hands this week,” Champagne said in the e-mail.
“As a result, I have instructed our deputies to focus on curfew enforcement.”
Department spokesman Sgt. Dwayne LaGrange said this type of activity is not uncommon when kids are out for holiday breaks or during the summer when there is no school in session. Normally the incidents fit the category of crimes of opportunity, he said.
“Normally, when they have some time off, we see a spike in vandalism and car theft, as well as criminal damage type incidents,” LaGrange said.
“We always try to saturate the areas with units when we see these types of crimes are being committed.”
Champagne asks for parish residents’ assistance in contacting the sheriff’s office by calling 911 if they witness children roaming the streets at night or if they see anything suspicious.
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