“Senseless vandalism.”
That’s how Nueces County Coastal Parks Director Scott Cross is characterizing a property crime at Corpus Christi’s beloved Bob Hall Pier late Sunday and into the overnight hours on Monday, August 24.
According to Cross, a group of four “younger gentlemen” vandalized construction equipment being used to rebuild the pier’s restaurant, which was destroyed by Hurricane Hannah in 2020. The group was captured on surveillance video entering the pier — which is open for anglers and other visitors — through its pay gate before exiting and heading toward the restaurant’s construction area.
“For whatever reason — I don’t understand it — they decided to take everything that wasn’t bolted down: generators, shop fans, tools, tables, chairs, blueprints, and throw it all in the ocean,” Cross told MySA on Tuesday, August 25.
“They didn’t steal anything. They just threw it all in the ocean. I’m like, to what purpose?” Cross added.
While surveillance footage “clearly” shows the perpetrators’ faces and clothing, law enforcement has yet to identify the suspects. But once they are identified, they will likely be charged with criminal mischief between $2,500 and $30,000, a Corpus Christi Police Department spokesperson told MySA. The charge is a state jail felony.
In the meantime, Cross was audibly upset at what is now the second incident of vandalism at the popular pier, which reopened to the public for the first time on February 24. Nueces County invested $28.5 million to restore the pier, which included increasing its structural durability, making it more accessible, and widening walkways, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Within days of its reopening, however, the structure was damaged by anglers drilling holes into the pier’s wooden railings and concrete decking to hold fishing rods.
“It’s frustrating for me because we’re trying to recover this pier, which is an iconic fishing pier. … I just wish people would take ownership in it as if it was theirs because it is theirs,” Cross said.