Police pinpoint suspected vandal after he left his license plate at Old Town crash scene

You just can’t make some of this stuff up.

On Monday morning, Pocatello Police and Old Town Pocatello Director Stephanie Palagi confirmed the person suspected of intentionally mowing-down more than $5,000 dollars worth of artwork in Old Town has been located.

The suspect’s name will not be released until an arrest has been made, but police say they know who it could be.

Police were quickly able to identify the suspect, since he not only left the license plate of the car he was driving behind after fleeing the scene, but police also found part of the artwork still stuck inside the windshield.

“It’s such a shame that someone would feel the need to destroy a piece of public art,” Palagi said.

Just before 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Palagi’s security footage showed an SUV driving the opposite direction down Main St., before turning into the Old Town Pavilion’s parking lot, and swerved onto the lawn to mow-down the main statue, before driving off.

Within that same week, Palagi said someone stole one of the security cameras pointing toward the artwork, without realizing more cameras were in place, able to capture that moment as evidence.

Palagi said the artwork has been on display for roughly five years, and within the past two years, it had fallen victim to the same act twice. However, there is not enough evidence tying both incidents to the same suspect.

“I’m not sure why this piece has been so attractive for someone to hit,” Palagi added. “But, this will not hinder us.”

Palagi said she plans to put the artwork back up.

“But this time, we will have to create some sort of barrier or something that won’t interfere with the beauty of the art pieces themselves but, at the same time, adds an element of protection.”

Currently, there is a fundraiser to help Old Town Pocatello and the folks with My Local Pocatello to pay for the display’s repairs. You can view it HERE.