Teen turned in by mother, charged in connection with Venice Island vandalism
Footage of an alleged vandal causing upwards of $30,000 in damage at Manayunk's Venice Island. (Image courtesy of Philadelphia Police)
Philadelphia Police charged a local 15-year-old boy with criminal mischief after his mother turned him in in connection with the extensive vandalism caught on video at Manayunk’s revitalized Venice Island Park two weeks ago.
The surrender came after a police received an anonymous tip on Saturday.
The youth’s name or address was not released since he’s a juvenile, but a police-department spokesman said the alleged vandal surrendered, with parental prompting, around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
After Fifth District police investigators noticed “extensive damage” to the Venice Island site on Nov. 8, they reviewed surveillance tape and saw one of two teens “breaking the LED accent lights around the lawn [and pulling] out the rope lighting from the handrails of the stairs.”
Damage was estimated between $20,000 and $30,000.
Just last month, Venice Island’s new recreation center and storm-water project opened in Manayunk a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Mayor Michael Nutter, City Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and others.
Venice Island now boasts a $46 million state-of-the-art performing-arts and recreation facility, basketball court, outdoor amphitheater, rain gardens and, among other facets, an underground storage basin.
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