A village curfew set by the Scotia Village Board of Trustees a couple of months ago aided in the arrest of three local youths Monday, Aug. 14, who are suspected of a vandalism spree throughout Schenectady County.
Scotia police said that having a curfew in place allowed them to stop and question the youths when the were found in the early morning hours wandering village streets. Police said the stop eventually lead to a confession.
Our officer was out patrolling the streets and noticed three individuals out at 2 in the morning. Our curfew for those 17 and under is 11 p.m. He immediately knew that at least two of the youths were under age and stopped them for questioning. It was the curfew that gave our officer the ability to stop and question these three young men, said Chief John Pytlovany.
Pytlovany said two of the three young men are juveniles, age 14 and 15, the third is Nicholas R. Snow, 20, of Schenectady. The three were charged with third-degree criminal mischief, a felony, and more charges are pending.
About 45 minutes after Sgt. Daniel Thouin picked up the three, Pytlovany said police began to receive calls and discover vandalism and damaged property across the village. According to police, eight vehicles had tires slashed, personal items were stolen from resident’s front porches and bundles of newspapers were ripped open.
`These individuals would wait until their parents were asleep, meet up about 12:30 in the morning and then just begin a senseless spree of crime, and for no good reason,` said Pytlovany.
Scotia police worked with city police, town of Rotterdam police, and Glenville police, neighboring areas that were also targets of the vandals.
`This was a cooperative effort. Schenectady police released a videotape last week that gave us an idea of what the individuals looked like,` said Pytlovany. `Had it not been for the curfew, they may not have been questioned the night they were in our village.`
Pytlovany said the three never used a vehicle during their nightly outings, and they literally walked all over the county without being caught. He said they mainly only struck tires on the roadside of the car and not the curbside.
Schenectady Lt. Brian Kilcullen said the investigation is continuing, and the three are expected to make a court appearance.
`We are now asking any residents who think they are victims of these vandals to report immediately to local authorities,` said Kilcullen.
Scotia Village Trustee Armon Benny said he feels this arrest is a testament of the effectiveness of the curfew law.
`We attribute part of the success of this case to the village curfew and the good work of our police department,` said Benny.
The curfew in Scotia is 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday for those seventeen and under.“