Elderly Vandal James Jeppe Caught Keying Hummer at School Parking Lot Southlake, TX

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 09-21-2008, 06:28 PM

Sep. 20--A 72-year-old Southlake man turned himself in to authorities Friday on charges he vandalized a high school student's Hummer, an act caught on the sport utility vehicle's motion-activated surveillance cameras this month, police said.

Police say James Andrew Jeppe indicated he acted out of "frustration over financial stressors" when he was recorded scratching "X's" into the 2008 Hummer H2's red paint.

Tips about the vandal's identity came pouring in to authorities this week, after police released photos and video of a gray-haired man committing the crime Sept. 5 in the Carroll Senior High School parking lot.

Mr. Jeppe faces a state jail felony criminal mischief charge, punishable by up to two years in state jail and up to a $10,000 fine.

He was released Friday afternoon from Tarrant County Jail on $1,000 bail.

Mr. Jeppe could not be reached for comment late Friday, but some who serve with him on a Southlake City Council neighborhood advisory board said they were surprised by the arrest.

"Nothing stands out in my mind that I would have thought would have been a clue," said Mike Terry, vice chairman of the Southlake Program for the Involvement of Neighborhoods.

The organization's members are volunteers appointed by the City Council to facilitate "communication between residents and the city staff," according to the city Web site.

Mr. Terry, who said he has served with Mr. Jeppe for several years, described him as "soft-spoken, polite, not particularly vocal on any issue."

"People that are on SPIN are going to be caring about development issues to make sure they do fit into the city," Mr. Terry said.

Police said they continue to investigate whether Mr. Jeppe might also be responsible for similar vandalism of Hummers in the Southlake area and throughout the metropolitan area.

In addition to the tips that led investigators to Mr. Jeppe, police received dozens of calls this week from other Hummer owners who said they also had been victims of similar vandalism.

In many cases they had not previously reported it.

Those reports came in addition to 12 police reports of Hummer vandalism throughout Southlake.

"This isn't an isolated incident," Detective Keith Fulgium said earlier this week. "This has happened to numerous Hummers in the Southlake area, usually at Carroll football games going back to last year."

Officials at Classic Hummer in Grapevine said they have repaired many Hummers with similar damage in recent years.

The video that played on televisions and computers screens throughout the region shows the vandal walk through the parking lot to one side of the Hummer and then the other.

He quickly but forcefully makes his mark in three spots before walking back to his car.

Police have said the vandalism caused about $2,200 in damage.