Cape Coral business owner offers reward to capture vandals

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- A business owner says vandals have been destroying her property over and over for weeks now, and she wants to put an end to it.

Crissy Barchers owns the Red Headed Witches, a costume shop on Del Prado Boulevard near Veterans Parkway.

Her business sign is now in pieces, being held together by strips of tape. That’s because someone tossed a brick through it Monday night.

“That’s a $2,000 sign,” said Barchers. “It’s money out of our own pocket, the insurance doesn’t want to cover it because the sign is not attached to the building.”

But the vandalism didn’t start with the sign.

Barchers says this is at least the fourth time vandals have attacked since January.

“They’ve literally pried the signage off the building at the front door and just left it broken in our carport,” said Barchers. “We had a big scarecrow prop. We came in one day and it was dug out of the ground and they had demolished the face and the body of it, where they literally ripped out the stuffing and just left in the lawn.”

Barchers says police told her they think a group of neighborhood teens are behind the vandalism and they may have hit other businesses in the area.

About two months ago, Paradise Bicycles just down the street had a window smashed and two bikes stolen.

Barchers is now offering a cash reward to anyone who can help.

“Myself, on behalf of the other business owners here, would really appreciate somebody coming forward and any information that could lead to an arrest.”

Barchers doesn’t know how much money she wants to give as a reward yet, but she says it will be in the hundreds.

If you have any information, call the Cape Coral Police Department at 239-574-3223.