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Vandalism: Can I win this case?

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Marc_1234

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California

Here's the story. I want to see if this could hold up in court with whatever evidence I could muster.

My roomate and I both had our cars vandalized. His back window was smashed in by what appears to be a baseball bat. Both my windshield, back window, and side windows were bashed in by the same instrument, I believe. Nothing was taken from the cars. Additionally, the cars were stored at two seperate locations, mine in front my my father's neighbor's house and my roommate's in our parking spot at the complex.

I was at my dad's house til about 9pm with my brother where he left to hang out with his friend. So I was home and in bed at about 10pm. Later that night, at around 2am, my dog woke me up to go out to the bathroom and on my phone I had about 8 missed calls, 2 voicemails, and a couple text messages. They came from my ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, and his former roommate. The voicemails were hang ups, the txts indicated that I had "wronged them" and I should "come outside." By now my roommate was home, he was with his girlfriend all day.

So in the process of walking my dog I'm txting to figure out what the problem is. After more aggressive behavior and the indication that me and my roommate broke my ex-girlfriend's car window earlier that night (12am was when I recieved the calls), he finally called me and basically told me to **** off and if I had something to say, come see him. On top of that, I accidentally told my ex-g/f that she doesn't know what car I'm driving now, so she can't confirm that it was me or not (I told her I bought a 97 bmw three months ago.) The next morning our car windows are smashed. They do have surveillence at the complex of a couple cars and 2 boys in their 20's in the parking lot late at night, but not any footage of the actual occurance. Also, the only person who could identify MY car from their group would be my ex, since it was parked in front of my neighbor's house and was purchased very recently.

So, with the call log, and text messages with timestamps, photographs of the damage, police reports on vandalism and harrassment, and perhaps even the video tape, do you think that would be enough to prove my case in small claims court?
 
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las365

Senior Member
So, with the call log, and text messages with timestamps, photographs of the damage, police reports on vandalism and harrassment, and perhaps even the video tape, do you think that would be enough to prove my case in small claims court?
It might, or it might not. It would depend on whether the finder of fact (Judge or jury) felt that it proved your allegations by a preponderance of the evidence (i.e. more likely than not).

From what you have posted, it seems logical to me to think that your ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend and some random friend of theirs conspired to and did smash the windows. But I don't know what they have to say or offer as evidence in their defense.

Did you break the ex-gf's car window? Why are you still involved in this drama? It sounds to me as if all of you will have credibility issues in court. Sounds like a case for Judge Judy!
 

Marc_1234

Junior Member
No, this actually has been an ongoing thing.

My roommate has had previous trouble with these people before. They approached him for breaking "the boyfriend's" window some time ago, and apparantly have a grudge with him.

And no, I did not break the window, I was with my brother earlier that evening, and when I got home my roommate's friends were there and can vouch for me. Additionally, these kids are notorious for smoking weed and other illegal substances, although I know that doesn't play into my case. In fact, I'm almost certain they lack any kind of evidence besides hear-say and rumor. I have no record of a violent past and don't intend to, lol.

So the reason they decided fit to bash in our windows was because they thought:

1. My roommate smashed in the boyfriend's window.

and then some time later..

2. I smashed in my ex-girlfriend's window.

I have not seen either of these people in over a year and a half, nor been around any of their casual hangouts/homes/etc. Besides my roommate's confrontation I don't see any reason why they'd suspect me for doing such a thing, other than the fact that they may have been coked out of their minds >.>

All in all, my hands are clean, and if I can pin the car that was driving around our apartment complex to them or one of their friends I think it would be a clear cut case. The first text I recieved from the boyfriend was "You might want to come outside."
 
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