INDIANAPOLIS — A man who police believe caused more than $60,000 in damages to 57 vehicles and three homes on the west side of Indianapolis now faces multiple charges in connection with a vandalism incident over the weekend.
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office formally charged 35-year-old Bradley Jones, of Indianapolis, with 33 counts of criminal mischief and one count of criminal recklessness.
Jones had his initial court hearing Wednesday, Sept. 13. A bail review hearing is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 18 at 8:30 a.m.
Just before 6 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10, IMPD officers were dispatched to the NeighborhoodCare of Chapel Hill Apartments at 230 Welcome Way Blvd. on reports of a suspicious person walking from vehicle to vehicle. Dispatch told officers a man, later identified as Jones, wearing all dark-colored clothing was seen by 911 callers to be crouched down near parked vehicles, holding at least one object in his hand.
Officers immediately noted several parked vehicles had flat tires. One witness told officers a man in a black T-shirt and black trousers had fled on foot toward Cranston Drive, a road which leads into the apartment complex from North Girls School Road.
The witness told officers he had been standing on his balcony overlooking the common parking lot when he heard several hissing sounds, as though many tires were being deflated, according to police records. The witness told police he asked Jones what he was doing, and yelled he would call police. Jones allegedly then yelled, "Call them." Jones then fled on foot, according to the witness.
At that point, another 911 call came in from an address on Chapel Villas Lane, which is just northeast of NeighborCare. The 911 caller told police they saw a man in all-dark clothing with tools of some sort arguing with another resident. Jones allegedly froze when IMPD officers pulled up to the location, turned north and began running.
A chase reportedly ensued along the 400 block of North Girls School Road, near Rockville Road. Officers in their police cars reportedly saw Jones holding two large stones in his hands. They eventually exited their cars, and Jones allegedly dropped the two large stones, put his hands over his head, and asked officers their names. He also hid behind an electrical utility box.
Police reports claim Jones initially did not comply with officers' request for him to come out from behind the utility box, saying he did not "want to get shot" and did not "want to get tased today."
Jones eventually exited once officers assured him he would not get shot if he complied with their instructions, according to police reports, and got on both knees in the grass. At that point, officers handcuffed Jones and found a switch-blade knife on him. An ambulance reportedly also arrived on scene and reported Jones did not need a transport.
Officers placed Jones under arrest for criminal mischief, a Level 5 felony offense, and criminal recklessness as police believed the property damage exceeded $60,000. Investigators later found a resident inside the Chapel Villas Lane apartments, Carla David, had sustained a minor cut to her right hand because Jones allegedly threw a rock inside her apartment.
“It was so loud, and it kept happening," David said. "These things kept coming through my windows.”
She said Jones hurled bricks from her front yard through two of her windows.
“Initially horrified, and now, I’m really angry," David said.
A later investigation determined 57 cars were vandalized with deflated tires and broken glass. Another three homes were reportedly vandalized. One resident told police he awoke to Jones standing outside his front door and noticed a large flower pot that had been damaged and thrown into his yard.
That resident told police he confronted Jones, asking what he was doing. Jones replied he believed they were under attack, then reportedly fled on foot.
Another resident told police he heard banging noises outside his home, and then noticed his gutter and outside light fixture were damaged.
Lionel Barnett said he had tires slashed on all three of his cars. He's already spent $900 on repairs, but says other residents aren't able to pay for new tires.
“People are trying to get out to go to church or maybe go to the grocery store or just go ride around or do whatever they do on a Sunday," Barnett said. "It’s catastrophic. It’s already hard for people to make it and to come out to that?”