A recent spate of 120 tire slash-ings in the Barnet Road area and at two Burnaby car dealerships mirrors a similar pattern of activity which occurred in the city this past April and May.
In the spring, approximately 100 cars had their tires slashed, bringing the cumulative total to more than 220 cars with slashed tires.
According to Burnaby RCMP Staff Sgt. Andy LeClair, the incidents are taking place in different areas of the city and at different times.
"This is disturbing because of how senseless it is," said LeClair. "People are going to work or going about their business and this really impacts their day. . There's no gain to the individual or individuals who are doing this."
LeClair said the December incidents occurred between Dec. 2 and 8, with 26 instances recorded in the Barnet Road and Pandora Drive area of North Burnaby, 60 tire slashings at one Burnaby car dealership and 33 at another dealership, along with two instances along Woodsworth Street near the Forest Lawn cemetery.
Sad Thiara, dealer principal and general manager at Carter Dodge Chrysler on Lougheed Highway, confirmed with the Burnaby NOW on Wednesday afternoon that his dealership had been victimized.
"We are covered by insurance, but this has affected our business," said Thiara. "Half the cars still have flat tires and the sales guys can't take them out on test drives with customers. . We are covered by insurance."
Thiara said cars at their Carter GM deal-ershp were also hit and he estimates total damages in the area of $60,000.
Thiara said the dealership had security cameras and a roving security guard working on the night of Dec. 8 when the slash-ings occurred, but there wasn't anything on the video that could help the police.
"We've never had a problem like this before," said Thiara. "It wasn't only us, as I know the Enterprise (rental car office) down the street was hit too."
In the spring, on April 27, the tire slash-ings were predominantly occurring in the underground lots of four apartment buildings in the area between Gaglardi Way and North Road.
The parking garages are located in complexes along Aries Place, Centaurus Circle and Lyra Place.
There were 60 instances of tires being slashed in this area, but there were also eight instances recorded in May in the Metrotown area and 20 tire slashings reported in the Edmonds area.
The Burnaby RCMP is looking for witnesses who may have seen something, either in the spring or earlier this month, to come forward.
"The individual or individuals responsible for this have most probably bragged about this crime," said LeClair. "We have had people come forward and tell us they have heard suspicious activity, but we need some good witnesses to come forward."
LeClair said people should be careful because "anybody who's slashing tires has an edged weapon."
"We're asking people to get a good clothing description or to remember the face and to call 911," said LeClair. "We need help from the public. It's not uncommon for the vandals to continue their behaviour until they're caught, so we're looking for the public's help."
LeClair said conservatively speaking, the tire slashings have caused more than $200,000 in damage.
"We're talking about some cars having all four tires being slashed and with tires costing $150 and up, you're looking at a ballpark of $1,000 if you're replacing all four," said LeClair.
