Police: Vandals Slash Car Tires In Midtown Tulsa Neighborhood

Vandals zeroed in on residents in Midtown Tulsa late Monday and early Tuesday morning.  Tulsa Police say someone slashed the tires of several cars, leaving owners stranded and stressed.

It all happened just south of downtown, all along South Elwood between 14th and 15th Streets.

There are at least ten victims, maybe more.

"Somebody was out for a long time last night," said victim Patrick Matlach.

Several people near Elwood had one, two or three tires slashed on their vehicles.

"It's expensive, it's time consuming and it's not right," said Elizabeth Howell.

The vandals got two of Howell's vehicles.

She says the repairs will cost her family $500.

"At least they only got one tire, I mean, to change a tire on Katie's car? $145. I'm not looking forward to the bill on this truck," Howell said.

Matlach said he had to spend twice as much fixing his heavy duty tires.

"I looked down the street—you could see all of the cars just sitting kind of crooked, from all of them being slashed," Matlach said.

Most of the slashes went through the sidewall, so the tires can't be patched—they have to be replaced.

"It wasn't something where they were just walking down the street and hitting it, they were maliciously trying to get through the tire and they finally did. Mine had 13 or 14 puncture spots on it," Matlach said.

Most of the homes in this neighborhood have street-side parking.

Some have driveways and garages, but nearly all the victims were parked on the street.

"Why? Why would you do that? Unless they happen to know all these people," said neighbor Louise Rose.

Matlach lost a day's worth of work dealing with the damage. He said his truck was also broken into and some equipment was stolen.

"A) you just feel violated because it's your personal property and B) to think that they're sitting somewhere laughing or having a beer and thinking they're funny, is what's really frustrating," Matlach said.

The victims said they filed police reports, but the suspects were long gone by the time anyone noticed the damage.

Matlach said he plans to turn his backyard fence into a double gate so he can start parking in the back, away from the street.