Vandals break into a Habitat for Humanity home and trash it

BEAUMONT-By: Leslie Rangel Broken doors, cabinets and torn up walls are just some of the things vandals destroyed after breaking into a home on Madison Street in Beaumont. The homeowner, set to move in before summer's end, lives just across the street and says she knows who's responsible for the break in. First we saw the broken glass and the powder on the floor right here and then we came in the kitchen, cabinets are broken, Marylin Dartest describes the first time she saw the destruction. Broken countertops, white powder and smashed cans, were just some of the evidence vandals left behind after they broke into a Habitat for Humanity home. This is the pantry and they had taken the canned goods and stuff out of here and this is what we saw in the living room, Dartest says. The living room was destroyed with ketchup stains, white powder and holes in the wall. I came over here to this room and the first bedroom and this is really a lot of damage in here. The insulation is busted, ketchup on the ceilings, floor is full of beans and some kind of other stuff on the floor, Dartest says. Vandals took cans, smashed them into the walls making holes in the sheetrock and a Habitat for Humanity spokeswoman says it will take at least $6,000 to fix it. It's just a shame how they have no sense of what they do to other people, Dartest says. Dartest believes she knows the people who did this, she says they're teenagers. The little things go to big things and if you catch them at a young age, maybe they could change their mind but once they get over a certain age, they're lost, Dartest says. She reported the crime to police, but not with the goal of sending the vandals to jail. It's not that I'm trying to hurt them just teach them a lesson, Dartest says. She hopes to teach them the difference between right and wrong. Even if it's probation, make them clean up the place, people work on these housees themselves, volunteers, sweat hours, it's not like they just sit down and let someone else work, it's not that easy, Dartest says. If you're interested in helping the homeowner call Habitat for Humanity of Beaumont at (409) 832-5853.