A man is under investigation after being caught on video turning on a home’s outdoor faucet, wasting a large amount of water.
SAN ANTONIO — The video is dark and grainy, but neighbors said it offers proof of an act of vandalism that makes no sense.
Beacon Hill neighbors said it happened Sunday about 2 a.m. about three blocks east of I-10, a few blocks south of Hildebrand Avenue.
The video shows a man wearing a safety vest wandering the street and then walking into the yard of a corner house.
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His visit lasted just a few seconds. Neighbors said he turned a water faucet on full force and walked away.
The homeowner said the torrent of water wasn’t discovered until about five hours later.
At a time when landscaping water restrictions are at Stage 3, and limited to one day of the week, several neighbors said the blatant waste of water was aggravating.
One neighbor, whose security cameras captured the incident, said the man responsible is well known in the area for causing trouble.
The man said, “This guy just runs up and down the streets seeing what he can steal.”
He said neighbors have been communicating with one another and have compiled a list of incidents the man has been involved in over time.
The list is four pages of single-spaced information.
They have San Antonio police case numbers and video to back up many of their allegations.
With regard to the latest incident, the neighbor said, “He sees the guy’s water faucet and thinks, ‘Hey, I’m going to mess with him and see if I can get away with it.’ He turns the guy’s water faucet on full blast, and this is 2 a.m. and it ran until 7 a.m.”
The exasperated man continued “This is what he does every night. He just sees what mischief he can get into.”
There is an active SAPD investigation into the incident. If a criminal mischief case moves forward, based on the cost of the water wasted, it should be considered a Class B Misdemeanor with a possible penalty range of up to 180 days in jail and up to a $2,000 fine upon conviction.
The neighbor, who also produced video of the man going after a worker from the city’s Animal Care Services division and another clip of the man approaching a car parked on the block and attempting to bash the windows during a disturbance, said “He’s just a terrorizer.”
Because the man has not been charged, KENS 5 is not naming him.
Several neighbors said there are surveillance cameras and warning signs all over this block to protect themselves from the continuing threat.
They said because this guy won’t quit, neither will they.
They said they hope justice will be served.