Sun is shining light on unwanted downtown Sioux Falls art. Businesses around the 900 block of East 8th Street were hit by graffiti last week.
Sioux Falls police arrested three teenagers following a tip call last week. Police say two of the teens had blue paint on their hands matching the graffiti left on buildings. The teens face felony vandalism to property charges, and the property owners are waiting for a warm day to clean up the damage.
“(They have) no respect for other people's property. Now we're going to have to pay to get this all fixed, repainted,” Brian Bolcerek said.
According to Bolcerek, nine businesses were hit over a two-day period last week, including Handyman, where Bolcerek works. His next door neighbor, Charles Wathier, wasn't immune either.
“The first night they did the garage door, the side, and a little bit on the back. The second night, the night they got caught, they did a lot more on the back,” Wathier said.
Wathier already cleaned up what he could outside Andy’s Wheel Alignment, but the rest will have to wait for a warmer day.
“Yeah, I'm going to paint it. Going to have to,” Wathier said.
“This is not the time of year to try to do painting by any means, so now we've got to live with this yuck until it warms up and we can repaint it” Bolcerek said.
Police say three of the teens have been caught. They're still looking for two more. They'll face charges, but the business owners would like more.
“I hope they learn from their mistakes and try to do the right thing from here on out,” Wathier said.
“I'd like to see them held responsible to come here and clear this off. I don't think it ought to be business owners’ responsibility to come and clean this stuff,” Bolcerek said.
Police arrested the teens after a tip call. Business owners say the suspected vandals were caught on camera.
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