THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090584
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Someone armed with a knife or razor has damaged more than $10,000 of new women's clothing in three department stores since the weekend, a Norfolk detective said Thursday.
Customers buying the clothes from stores in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake have noticed the damage, detective Maureen Evans said.
Police think it was a vandal who cut slits up to 5 inches in expensive women's clothing, Evans said.
At Hecht's in Military Circle shopping center in Norfolk, the suspect ruined about $3,000 worth of full-length leather coats and Nautica brand clothing. The damage was reported Monday.
Proffitt's stores in Chesapeake's Greenbrier Mall and in Virginia Beach's Pembroke Mall have been the sites of similar vandalism. The cost of the damage in those two stores was not available.
Evans said she believes the crimes are related. If caught, the suspect could face felony vandalism charges in all three cities.
``Anything over $1,000 is a felony,'' Evans said. ``And he or she is certainly over that.''
Evans declined to say whether she has a suspect. Some of the stores use hidden surveillance cameras, she said, but she didn't say whether anyone was seen on film doing the damage.
Evans is asking the public's help to solve the crimes.
Anyone with information can call the Norfolk Crime Line at 441-5100.
KEYWORDS: VANDALISM by CNB