Cape Coral businesses targeted with spray-paint vandalism

A business that a couple put their blood, sweat, and tears into every day is defaced by criminals, and the owners want to know why.

The owners of Brand 1 Ink in Cape Coral found the words “ink machine” spray-painted in black on its exterior wall.

Was it a childish prank or something more sinister? The owner, Clinton Strand, is frustrated and has no idea.

“It’s just a rough way to start a week,” he said.

Someone with a can of paint targeted Strand’s business, leaving him to clean it up.

He said, “Instead of rolling in this morning and being able to go straight to work, we have to go to work on cleaning it up and maybe repainting to make sure that this doesn’t stain.”

Over the weekend, Strand and his wife, Leigh, discovered the words “ink machine” written in black letters on the side of their wall.

She’s angry too. “It was kind of like a kick in the teeth. We work really hard in this community, for our community, and to come and see it, it was like a slap in the face.”

It turns out the Strands have company as victims in the crime.

At least two other Cape Coral business owners say they were vandalized too.

At Advocate Oncology, someone spray-painted the wall with graffiti that looks similar to the graffiti on the strand’s wall.

“We already tried pressure washing this morning and that’s not taking it off so we have to figure out the color of the building, get some paint.” Strand confirmed. “I will paint over it.”

He said within a few minutes investigators had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Now, Cape Coral police just have to find them. Anyone caught vandalizing property could face felony charges.