AMHERST – Several mailboxes, a pile of cordwood and security lights were damaged in a North Amherst neighborhood during an alleged vandalism spree early Sunday morning, according to police.
Alex T. Mateer, 21, of Whitinsville, was arrested at 1:27 a.m. on State Street — following a chase by officers into the woods off Leverett Road and through the Ruxton gravel pit on Pulpit Hill Road — on charges of vandalizing property, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, said Detective Jamie Reardon.
Reardon said police were initially called to Leverett Road after a resident reported several college-age people outside the home knocking over trash cans, taking tarps off cordwood and throwing the tarps and pieces of the wood into the street and also smashing glass in the road.
When officers got there, they determined that Mateer was the only one responsible for the damage, which included damaging at least eight mailboxes and scattering the mail that was still in some of them, Reardon said.
Police have distributed flyers to residents asking them to report any additional damage or thefts that might be related to the vandalism spree.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
