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Residents on a South Berkeley block victimized by a rash of car vandalisms are uniting to build a community they hope will be strong enough to stop the culprit from striking again. 

During the past year and with increasing regularity, someone has tampered with the engines of two cars, poured sugar, soda or ash into the gas tanks of six cars and slashed tires and spray-painted the exteriors of several others, said neighbors who Wednesday attended the second meeting of a fledgling neighborhood group formed primarily to address the vandalism. 

“We know who it is,” said Lisa—who declined to give her last name for publication—a neighbor who last weekend found a nail jammed into the tire of the car she’d parked outside her home on Ward Street between McGee and Grant streets. “Whenever there is a fight or argument with this guy, the next day your car is messed with.” 

Lisa said that over the past year, several neighbors mentioned that their cars had been vandalized, but most had chalked it up to random lawlessness. But then she noticed a common thread: “Every time it happens to a new person, I ask them if they had a confrontation with this person and the answer is always yes.” 

Neighbors said it’s hard to avoid conflict with the man they suspect of the crimes. He revs up his motor and races his car down Ward and Derby Streets and loses his temper easily, especially when someone parks too close to his car or truck. 

James Breunig, a lifelong resident of McGee Street, said he learned that lesson first-hand about a month ago. Driving down Ward Street, he found his path blocked temporarily by the suspect in his truck. The two exchanged cold stares as Breunig waited for his path to clear. Three days later he noticed his car’s acceleration was off and discovered a mixture of ash and oil clogging the fuel line. 

That wasn’t the end for Breunig. 

A few days later he spotted the man loitering in his driveway. When questioned, the man asked Breunig if he owned the car in the driveway, then walked away to join several other men waiting in a dark blue car parked nearby. A few days later Breunig spotted the same car circling his house and drove after it. After both cars parked, a passenger from the blue car got out, stood at Bruenig’s window and warned him that if he did anything to the man suspected in the vandalism, “I’ll come back around and firebomb your house.” 

Breunig didn’t know about the car vandalism until a family member talked to Lisa and they joined forces to rally the neighbors. “All I’m trying to do is make a difference and stop this,” he said. 

Sixteen neighbors attended Wednesday’s meeting after last week’s session—which ended on a sour note when Maria—another neighborhood organizer reluctant to allow her last name to be printed—returned home to find someone had spray-painted black on the hood and roof of her car. 

It was the second time her vehicle had been vandalized. “Last month he put Coca-Cola in my tank,” she said. The soda clogged her fuel system, resulting in a $1,700 repair bill. 

Maria responded by inviting the man to Wednesday’s meeting. Even though he didn’t attend and professed his innocence, Maria said she hoped the encounter might convince him to stop the attacks. “Usually he flies off but this time he was calm,” she said. 

Berkeley Police Officer Rob Rittenhouse offered to help neighbors organize block-by-block neighborhood watches, compile a list of complaints for a detective to study and schedule safety inspections for neighbors. But he cautioned that catching the suspect in the act would be tricky. 

“These crimes are difficult because they’re quick. Slashing a tire doesn’t leave much to go on.” 

Police statistics available at press time showed a high concentration of crime on the 1700 block of Ward Street. So far this year, residents of the block have reported 20 cases of vandalism, auto vandalism or auto burglary. 

“That definitely appears to be high,” said police spokesperson Kevin Schofield, who said that beat officers have been alerted to the high rate of property crimes on the block. 

Rittenhouse will work alongside Jim Hynes of Berkeley’s Problem Property Team to marshal the city’s resources to stop the vandalism. Earlier this month, the team successfully galvanized neighbors to help secure warrants for drug dealers operating out of a West Berkeley home. 

Some neighbors said they think the only answer is electronic surveillance. “As much as I don’t like the idea I’m considering buying a wireless camera. It’s the only way I can see catching him in the act,” Breunig said. “All we have is a bunch of circumstantial evidence. We need something to tie him to it.” 

Lisa opposes the idea. “As much as I don’t want him to do it anymore, I don’t want to bring Big Brother into the neighborhood. That doesn’t build community.” 

Breunig called on his neighbors to band together and file $5,000 small claim court lawsuits against absentee landlords on Ward Street whose properties are used to sell drugs—a tactic employed to some success in Oakland and West Berkeley—while Lisa and Maria want more neighborhood bonding events to foster a sense of community. 

Lisa also lamented that the vast majority of those in attendance were white homeowners. “I’m begging for the renters to come,” she said. 

By the meeting’s end, neighbors had formed the roots of a neighborhood watch group and agreed to draft a letter to residents in adjoining blocks, warning them not to argue with the suspect for fear of reprisal. But many remain skeptical they could stop the attacks. 

“I don’t feel real comfortable,” said Lisa. “I feel something might happen to my car tomorrow. But maybe next year we’ll be a tighter community and this won’t be a problem anymore.”