HELENA — Imagine waking up, coming out to your car, and seeing your window broken. Well, that’s what some Helena residents have woken up to over this past week.
Marisa Jackels woke up last Monday morning to find her car window shot through with what seemed to be a BB gun. Nothing was stolen out of her car. After making a police report and calling a glass shop, days later she finally got her car repaired.
“You could see there was something that had hit it and it had spider-webbed out. It was big, jagged, and then just little shards of glass all in the car and around. And this kind guy who was working on some construction across the street came over and was like, you can tell something hit this, and he’s like, this sucks. And I was like, yeah, it does,” said Jackels.
She continued, “Think about the person who has to wake up to find that and then is taping up a blanket and has to pay. And like, I’m blessed, I’m thankful that I had the savings to be able to do that. But you could really cause a lot of pain and inconvenience."
Jayson Zander, a lieutenant with the Helena Police Department, says they’ve seen seven of these similar incidents over the past week.
He says while these crimes are hard to track, they can utilize business or residential cameras to help track down the suspects.
“If we do find you, I can assure you will be charged and you will be held accountable and you will be responsible for the repairs,” says Zander.
Collin Wilkinson, Shop Manager at Big Sky Auto Glass, says they see the most business during this summer season and have seen an uptick in business due to these acts of vandalism. He says that replacing windshields and door windows can vary in price, on average, from $280-350.
“It has happened over the years. You know, it’ll, it’s hit out in East Helena a couple of years ago, there was a round of it that went around. It’s happened out in the valley. Now it’s happening up by the Capitol,” says Wilkinson.
Jackels’ new window cost her about $270. But it was more than just money she had to spend. She was forced to miss some work and figure out rides to and from the glass shop.
She says she’s nervous about parking her car on the street again. And says she hopes that whoever did it will reconsider their actions.
“It’s not thinking about the reality of the impact that that has on the person whose car that is or whose property that is. So, yeah, it’s just kind of a lack of empathy or, or thinking it through,” says Jackels.
