Where's Lancaster's Acid Vandal Been?

Police eye man in acid vandal case.....Matches description; lab results pending!

By BRETT HAMBRIGHT, Staff Intelligencer Journal
Published: Jan 10, 2008 2:24 AM EST

LANCASTER, Pa. - Lancaster city police said Wednesday they have identified a "person of interest" in the acid vandal case, and they hope items recovered from the man's home will lead to an arrest.

Police said they questioned a middle-aged man in November about the incidents, and he gave investigators permission to search his home.

Items seized from the home are being processed at a state police crime lab, Sgt. Michael Branner said Wednesday night. Police didn't elaborate on what was taken from the home and could not say when the lab results would be available.

"We don't have enough evidence to charge him now," Branner said. "Depending on the lab results, we may have enough."

Police officials Wednesday declined to identify the man or say where he lives.

Officials said there have been no acid vandalism incidents since the man was questioned.

"It hasn't happened for quite a while," Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray said Wednesday night. "So maybe there is a relationship between the contact (with this person)."

More than 400 vehicles in Lancaster city and township have been damaged by a corrosive substance since the attacks began two years ago, investigators said. Total damages are nearing $500,000.

Police declined to say what led them to the man. Branner said he matches a physical description given by a city woman who said she saw the vandal in action last August. The woman, who said she witnessed someone vandalizing her car, described the culprit as a thin white man in his 40s, clean shaven and about 5-feet-11-inches tall.

Branner said identifying the person of interest was not the result of a tip through Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers, which is offering an $18,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction.

Making an arrest would be just one step in what officials said will be a tough case to prosecute.
"Needless to say, these (crimes) are difficult to prove," Gray said. "You don't have the exact time they happened or eyewitnesses."

The man police are investigating could face felony criminal mischief charges if police can tie him to all the incidents, Branner said.

"In this case, it would be a felony because of the dollar damage," Branner said. "There were over 400 (vehicles) damaged, but how many can we charge him with? Whether it's one vehicle or 400, they are all tough to prove."

Gray offered a solution: "The best thing would be to catch the guy in the act."
Despite Wednesday's development, city police continue to devote resources to apprehending the vandal. "It's a person of interest," Gray said. "At this point, it's speculation that this person would face any charges.