MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A youth softball organization said thieves left behind mess and heartbreak.
Officials with the Middletown Youth Softball Association wrote that they discovered vandalism at the organization’s concession stand and offices in a Facebook post Tuesday evening.
“To whoever came in to our building and busted open the concession stand door and took everything! Then busted our office door and took our sound system! Just know you stole from over 200 kids!” Officials wrote in the post. “Everything you took belonged to our kids at MYSA!”
Concession Manager Denny Gross said the vandal or vandals smashed pickle jars against a brick wall at the Highland Street facility.
Pickle jar smashed against Middletown Youth Softball Association building
“They took their time, they took their time because they went through a lot of stuff here” Gross said. “Why in the world they would want to steal three or four jars of dill pickles.”
Gross said the stolen items include food, candy, cash, some trophies and a $3,000 PA system — a cost Gross said will have an impact on the season.
“When they take away from that, then we have to take away from our money,” he said. “It just messes the whole year up.”
Manid Roman’s 7-year-old son Bentley plays T-ball.
“Every year we drive by and he’s like, ‘When do I get to play baseball?’” Roman said. She said she agrees that the kids end up paying the price for vandalism.
“It’s sickening that somebody would go in here and do this, especially for a non-fund association,” Roman said.
Gross said he’s considering security cameras inside the building.
According to Middletown Police, the front door may have not latched properly, allowing the vandal or vandals to get inside the building. Once inside, detectives say someone used a hammer to get into several of the offices. That hammer was sent off to the lab to check for fingerprints.
