Two suspected of breaking windows of more than 20 vehicles

An 18-year-old Hutchinson man and a 17-year-old Glencoe boy were arrested Monday afternoon on suspicion of having used pellet pistols to break windows of more than 20 vehicles.

Both suspects were booked and taken to the McLeod County Jail in Glencoe. The adult, Mitchell Lawrence Mayland, has been charged by the McLeod County Attorney’s Office with one felony count of first-degree damage to property. If convicted, he could faced a penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Hutchinson police began getting reports of vehicles with windows shot out about 8:20 a.m. Monday. All were at three auto dealerships along State Highway 7 East — Valley Sales with nine vehicles, Frank Motors had four and Erickson Auto had eight. Damage totaled about $8,000.

Police suspect two more vehicles parked at the NAPA store, just east of Frank Motors, also were targets of the suspects. About five similar incidents were discovered by Glencoe police, who were able to provide Hutchinson police with information on the suspects and the vehicle, a 2003 black Volkswagen Jetta, they were believed traveling in.

Hutchinson police stopped a vehicle matching that description about 12:30 p.m. near the intersection of state highways 7 and 15. Two pellet guns, believed stolen from Wal-Mart, were found in the vehicle, as were pellets for the two different styles of guns.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)