CLEARWATER -- A serial vandal is terrorizing a Clearwater condominium. The criminal is pouring super glue on door locks this Thanksgiving holiday.
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All of the victims are current HOA board members. One of
them even got trapped. She was forced to exit her home through the fire
escape.
Schmoll says the glue essentially froze the deadbolt in place. Schmoll says
if she had a one bedroom condo instead of her two bedroom, she wouldn't have
had an alternate way to exit.
“I was first taken back in shock, I mean I was shocked that anybody within
our building would be capable of doing something like that," said Schmoll.
But who would do this and why? Schmoll says it’s because of money.
The board had just discussed, with residents, raising HOA fees for the first
time in eight years to paint and maintenance the building. The math comes
out to around an extra $300 a month.
Schmoll says the building needs these upgrades and noting the increase is
temporary. This HOA president believes this vandalism is meant to send a
message and to "intimidate" the board members.
“If he thinks that what he is doing is speaking his voice— it’s not," said
Schmoll.
This Sunday, the vandal struck again. Two board members were hit for a
second time. Schmoll estimates the damages to be nearly $5,000 in total.
Ironically, the crime may force the HOA to raise fees in order to upgrade
security. Clearwater Police says it is now checking to see if there’s any
surveillance footage that could help them in this investigation. The HOA is
set to vote on its budget in two weeks.