Madison Co. Sheriff’s Office investigates widespread vandalism in Sugar City

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a case of vandalism, the likes of which have never been seen before in the town of Sugar City.

The sheriff’s office started getting calls around 8 a.m. Thursday about reports of property throughout the city being spray painted.

“They did hit quite a few buildings here in town, and we are following up on everything,” Sgt. Cameron Stanford said. “This took them a couple of hours. They made some effort. It took them quite a while to do all the painting they have done throughout the town.”

At the elevators on the edge of town, those behind the graffiti had to climb a ladder several feet off the ground to make their mark. They also targeted the train cars next to the elevators. Several fences in town are marked with “Ace Squad.” Damage at the tennis courts is already being cleaned up. A damage estimate has not been finalized, but Stanford believes it could be in the thousands, which could result in more serious charges.

“The cleaning-up process, the restitution is going to be a big deal,” Standford said. “If they do it properly, with the sandblasters, steel, so we could be looking at bigger charges.”

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office has found several clues in the areas of the vandalism and is continuing to investigate.

“We have video cameras here in the town, the city, the schools, so we are reviewing them, the gas station,” Stanford said. “A few other places have cameras.”

Stanford says rumors on Facebook of the vandalism being related to gang activity are false.

The Sheriff’s Office is working with local school resource officers to see if there’s talk in the schools about who may be behind the vandalism.