Residents of Lumien Apartments awoke April 3 to find tires slashed or windshields smashed on 20 cars in the parking lot of the affordable housing complex off County Road 251 in northeast Durango.
Durango Police arrested Joaquin Schmitt, 23, on suspicion of criminal mischief, a fifth degree felony that morning. He is accused of causing $6,750 in damage to the vehicles.
Although insurance or restitution may eventually cover the cost of the damage, the immediate impacts to the low-income residents is immense, said Stephanos Calligas, the resident services coordinator at Lumien.
The incident intruded upon the sense of safety and comfort that residents should have at home, Katrina Patterson said. The single mother has lived in a Lumien apartment for over four years and has 10 year-old and a 7 year-old. Her car’s windshield was smashed.
“(My children) walking outside and seeing a ton of busted windows and tires slashed isn't a safe feeling,” she said. “And I feel like all kids in Durango deserve to feel safe.”
The vandalism not only prevented some of the vehicles’ owners from using their cars, but it also saddled them with hundreds of dollars in sudden expenses and the logistical burden of coordinating repairs.
“There's a lot of disabled folks at Lumien, there's a lot of single parents at Lumien, there's a lot of seniors at Lumien – all those folks were affected,” Calligas said.
Schmitt is not a resident of the complex, property manager Charmalee Evans said. The act appeared to be random and unconnected to the property.
According to an arrest affidavit, Schmitt waived down Durango Police Officer Ethan Anderson on CR 251 around 3 a.m. He told Anderson he had been assaulted, and Anderson observed that Schmitt was bleeding from the mouth and his right hand. The officer also found a fixed-blade knife on Schmitt.
Another officer discovered the damaged vehicles while searching near Lumien for a vehicle allegedly involved in Schmitt’s assault. Windows were smashed on seven vehicles and another 13 had tires slashed.
After Schmitt was taken to Mercy Hospital by ambulance, Anderson and the other officer discovered the full extent of the vandalism. Security camera footage from a tenant appeared to show Schmitt smashing windows with the knife in hand.
The tires appeared to have been slashed with the same knife, and drops of blood near and on the tires were likely from Schmitt’s bleeding hand, which had been lacerated by the broken glass.
On Tuesday afternoon, three cars with flat tires remained in the parking lot, and another had a temporary spare. Three cars remained with fully shattered rear windows, and six others had cracked windshields.
“It's unfortunate,” Evans said. “We've got lovely residents that don't deserve this.”
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to help impacted tenants pay for repairs.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
