KOBLERVILLE residents interviewed by Variety want authorities to take appropriate action regarding acts of vandalism that have damaged vehicles, among other things, in their neighborhood, which is known as the Turnkey area.
The residents said a group of juveniles “hang out” in an abandoned house before “coming out and making trouble.”
“I usually park my vehicle in front of our house,” resident Michael Catacutan said. “One night, around 8:30 p.m. I was about to pick up my wife from work when I heard a loud crash. They broke the driver side window of my vehicle…I saw two kids.”
Another resident, Ray Boongaling, said someone broke the left side mirror of his vehicle.
“The juveniles also threw rocks at my house, but luckily, they did not do any further damage,” Boongaling added.
“The problem is that the kids are hanging around the abandoned houses up to 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning,” said another resident, Joaquin Kiyoshi. “Ten or 11 years old, small kids, I’m very concerned about the little girls.”
He added, “They break windows of houses, they spray paint the road with graffiti, break glasses, break a vehicle’s window…they also mess with the neighbors’ trash cans.”
A woman who declined to be identified said their House members “should know about this.”
“We used to park our vehicles outside our fenced home, but now it’s no longer safe. If we do park outside, we always watch from our window,” she added.
According to the residents they have reported the incidents to the Department of Public Safety.
They said authorities should prevent access to the abandoned houses, and increase police presence in the area.
“If they see some juveniles loitering in the late evening, they should enforce curfew,” Boongaling added, referring to the police.
Ramon “RB” Camacho, a retired police major who is an independent candidate for Saipan mayor, met with the residents while conducting a house-to-house visit on Monday.
He said he learned from the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation that the abandoned houses do not belong to NMHC, but are privately owned.
Camacho said the government agency that has the authority “should take action on these abandoned houses.”
Camacho is also asking DPS to “check on the parents of these juveniles — maybe the kids are being neglected. This is a real community issue.”
Camacho encourages more members of the community to speak out, get organized and create a neighborhood watch group “so we can start looking out for each other.”
Koblerville residents talk to RB Camacho and Variety regarding the recent acts of vandalism in their neighborhood.
Koblerville residents are seen outside an abandoned house where juveniles “hang out” in the evening.
Ray Boongaling shows the damage caused to his vehicle by vandals in Koblerville.
