A day after someone drove on the Scarborough High School athletic field causing significant damage to the turf surface, police said they have impounded a vehicle of interest and are working on leads as to who may have been responsible.

Damage done by a vehicle early Tuesday morning forced the closure of the turf field at Scarborough High School. Photo courtesy News Center Maine

“Based on review of nearby surveillance video, the damage occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday and was caused by a motor vehicle driving recklessly and with clear intention to inflict damage,” Scarborough police said in a news release posted on the department’s Facebook page Wednesday afternoon.

The turf field at the Clifford C. Mitchell Sports Complex has been closed by the town, which posted signs saying the closure would be indefinite due to safety concerns.

A track encircles the field and the turf field is used by school football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey teams, as well as summer soccer leagues, the town said.

Scarborough Police Chief Robby Moulton said physical evidence was recovered from the field, leads are being pursued, and a vehicle of interest has been impounded in connection with the vandalism.

Moulton said investigators believe that the vehicle, a pickup truck, was driven on the field during the vandalism spree. Its operator was able to access the playing field by using an unlocked gate. Moulton said Wednesday night that several suspects have been identified, but no one has been charged.

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“The damage to the field and surrounding areas was significant,” Scarborough police said on Facebook. Ditches in the nearby Wentworth School parking lot also were damaged.

Moulton said Scarborough School Department officials were still working Wednesday on what it will cost to repair the damage.

Scarborough police told News Center Maine (WCHS/WLBZ) that the person or persons responsible for the damage could face felony criminal mischief charges.

People who read the police department’s Facebook post expressed outrage.

“The guilty party needs to pay 100 percent of damages and serve jail time. I will never as long as I live understand what is going through an individual’s thought process while destroying city property, or any property for that matter,” one woman wrote.

“Please find them and prosecute, even if they are teenagers. They know exactly what they did,” another Facebook commenter wrote.

Anyone who might have information about the vandalism is being asked to call the Scarborough Police Department at 883-6361 or the anonymous crime tip hotline at 730-4386.


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