May be related to Zimmerman verdict

Andalusia was not immune to reaction from the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case.

Over the weekend, some eight cases of vandalism were reported throughout the city – one of which occurred at a home on Third Avenue, involving a pickup with the message “RIP Treyvon” written in shoe polish down the side, said Andalusia Police Chief Wilbur Williams.

Williams said the eight complaints were reported between midnight Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

“Two of the vehicles were actually discovered by an officer on routine patrol early Sunday morning, but only one of the reports contained anything that I can remotely attach to the Zimmerman trial,” Williams said. “The report indicated that the victim believed that ketchup and an unknown black substance were also on the roof of the vehicle.”

Similar instances similar in nature, but not in message, occurred on Opp Avenue, South Cotton Street, Russel Street, Short Street, Fletcher Road and Barton Street. The words “cheater” and “bitch” were used on the vehicles.

The incidents on S. Cotton and Short streets involved ketchup, Williams said.

“As you can see, these reports were scattered all over town,” he said. “I believe only the report on Third Avenue has any connection to the Zimmerman case. All of the others appear to involve some type of domestic issues rather than anything else.

“There are some similarities with the use of catsup and some of the words used but they do not appear to relate to any specific situation,” he said. “We are checking some security video cameras to see if we can determine any suspects but at this time we do not have any viable suspects. One victim listed a possible suspect and we are pursuing this lead.”

Williams asked anyone with any information about the rash of criminal mischief complaints to call 222-1155.

“This series of incidents represents hundreds of dollars in damage to these vehicles, and we are actively pursuing any and all information that may develop,” he said.

Elsewhere in the nation, media outlets reported that thousands of people staged demonstrations in cities across America Sunday and into Monday – resulting in more than a dozen arrests in New York City and Los Angeles – as they voiced their disappointment and anger at the decision by a Sanford, Fla., jury to acquit George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Martin.

On Saturday, the 29-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting of Martin in February 2012.

Most of the protests were peaceful, but some of the most dramatic scenes occurred in Los Angeles, where protesters clashed with police Sunday night and Monday morning, with one group of protesters blocking a major freeway.

Police in Los Angeles said they arrested six people on Monday, mostly for failure to disperse.