Neighborhood vandalized with graffiti; homeowners clean the damage

Homeowners in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Idaho Falls woke up to a big shock when they stepped outside Thursday morning and discovered their fences had been vandalized.

Nearly every panel was hit on the fence surrounding their homes on the intersections of 1st Street and Crowley and Ladino Drive and Crowley.

This subdivision just a couple of blocks from Ammon Road doesn’t get too much attention.

But overnight, all eyes were suddenly on the quiet neighborhood.

“Every couple of fences, there it is again and our hearts just kind of sank,” said Sarah Wheeler, a homeowner.

Black spray painted designs covered the neighborhood’s fencing — including the section directly to the east of resident Cara Winters’ home.

“I just couldn’t believe it. I walked out and sure enough there was a bunch of words that were tagged that I couldn’t understand,” said Winters.

Neighbors said they didn’t want to leave the graffiti up too long and thought the sooner they removed it, the better.

“The more it stays up there, then if it’s like a gang territory thing, they’re going to want to keep it there so if you get rid of it really quickly then it’s like what’s the point of doing it in the first place, you know?” said Wheeler.

And within 24 hours, most of it was taken down.

“We put on our big latex gloves to scrub the fence and got our lacquer thinner and Scotch-Brites and rags and scrubbed like crazy for three hours. It was just insane,” said Winters.

Deputies said none of the tags have any gang relation, but the interesting thing about tracking down who did the graffiti is the technique.

They said they look at the design, application and type of spray paint and those factors help them find those responsible.

In this particular case, those behind the tagging could face either a misdemeanor or felony citation.

If you have any information, call the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office at 529-1200.