ST. LOUIS — Anonymous notes left on the windshields of three cars spelled out in shaky handwriting a caution to the cars' owners.
"You have one week to get plates," the notes said. "You have been warned."
The notes surfaced in late September on Bancroft Avenue, in the city's Lindenwood Park neighborhood.
A woman whose family owns two of the vehicles at first thought it might be a prank from neighbors on the tight-knit block. Then on Oct. 11, all of the tires on her two SUVs were slashed.
Another neighbor down the street was also hit. A Volkswagen had all four of its tires slashed around the same time. The cost to repair the damage makes it a felony.
The vehicle owners said a vigilante appears to be at work.
"Someone is feeling like they have to take the law into their own hands, around something that legitimately is not hurting anyone," the SUVs' owner said. She asked that her name be withheld, for fear of retaliation.
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The vehicles were parked on Bancroft, a tidy tree-lined street of brick homes. One of the SUVs, purchased in August, had temporary tags; another car had its tags stolen earlier. The other neighbor said the car's plates expired as the car was waiting on repairs.
Footage from one couple's Ring camera wasn't vivid enough to show a person, because it was too far away. But it showed the cars drop as tires deflated between 1 and 2 a.m. Oct. 11.
The vehicle owners in both cases filed police reports. No detective called them back, but police gave the owners a police report number for insurance purposes.Â
St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë Alderman Bret Narayan, who represents the neighborhood, hadn't heard of any such damage.
"Expired temp tags are definitely obnoxious," he said, "but you shouldn't be slashing someone's tires."
On Friday, St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë police Sgt. Charles Wall said no one has been arrested in the case.
Anyone who has information is asked to call District 2 detectives at the South Patrol Division at 314-444-2500. Tipsters can also remain anonymous by calling CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
Two of the cars now have plates and tags. The owner of the third said she still doesn't have money for repairs. Â