Bethlehem police say they have arrested the so-called “Hammer Slammer” believed to have smashed around 100 car windshields around the region since last summer.
Grant Chase, 37, of Hellertown is charged with felony and misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief in dozens of the incidents, which involved a person targeting parked vehicles in residential areas, Bethlehem police Chief Michelle Kott announced Monday afternoon.
The reports of vandalism started late last summer and continued into the fall across multiple Northampton County municipalities, including Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township. Bethlehem police began receiving similar reports in the fall, Kott said.
Most of those reports came from the eastern portion of the city’s South Side, and the vandalism appeared to target areas with poor lighting and no city police cameras, according to Kott. A lack of witnesses and clear video surveillance from residents in the area also complicated the investigation. Some vehicle owners did not immediately discover the damage, delaying them in reporting the vandalism to police.
Police were eventually able to identify Chase as a suspect, and on March 18, searched his residence, where “evidence related to the investigation was recovered,” Kott said.
Police then surveilled him for several days, during which time he was seen vandalizing more vehicles. On the night of March 21-22 alone, he was seen damaging eight vehicles, causing around $8,000 in damage, police said.
Police obtained an additional search warrant Monday and took Chase into custody without incident, according to Kott.
The Bethlehem incidents Chase is charged in occurred between Dec. 3 and March 22 along East Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth streets, and surrounding areas. Nearly 100 incidents, with “several tens of thousands of dollars” in damage, were reported throughout the region, Kott said.
Chase was arraigned before District Judge Nick Englesson and sent to Northampton County Jail under $50,000 bail.
Bethlehem police conducted the investigation with police from Hellertown, Lower Saucon Township and Lehigh University.