AMHERST – An Amherst man was arrested at 3:52 a.m. Friday at a Fearing Street home on charges of disturbing the peace and vandalizing property, according to police.
Renald Cuko, 23, of 1040 North Pleasant St., Apartment 516, was allegedly banging on the front door of the multi-family residence and then, when he got inside, damaged a fire alarm box in the common hallway, said Sgt. Detective Brian Daly.
Amherst Fire Department had its student firefighters perform a fire watch at a the home until representatives from Eagle Crest Property Management got to the scene to make repairs.
“In this situation it was called for because a bunch of people live in the building, and we couldn’t be sure the alarm system was functioning because this kid came in and tore off parts of it,” said Fire Chief Walter “Tim” Nelson.
Eagle Crest will be billed for the fire watch, which is usually put in place when an alarm system is compromised in a multi-tenant dwelling. Nelson said the idea is to keep the building safe during the overnight hours.
Nelson added that the property management company will likely try to recoup this expense from the suspect.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com
