San Diego police are searching for the driver of a vehicle that tore up the Mount Soledad Open Space Preserve near the National Veterans Memorial in La Jolla over the weekend.
Sometime between 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, a driver did donuts on the lawn, destroying large sections of sod, spraying mud around and leaving behind deep tire ruts.
San Diego police Sgt. Ariel Savage said the act is being investigated as felony vandalism.
The Mount Soledad Memorial Association said it is working with the San Diego Police Department, the Parks & Recreation Department and San Diego County Crime Stoppers to identify the perpetrator.
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"This vandalism not only desecrates a beautiful public space but also dishonors the memory of the veterans honored at the memorial," MSMA executive director Neil O'Connell said. "This is a place of peace and reflection for our community, and we are determined to restore it."
Members of the MSMA are combing through surveillance video to see if cameras caught the crime. They say they're hoping history is on their side.
"It has happened before," Trevor Wessman-Lavelle with the MSMA said. "We have been able to determine who that individual was, and justice was served."
Ali Azamov says the weekend vandalism is likely the symptom of a larger problem he and other neighbors deal with late at night living near Mount Soledad's gates. He showed NBC 7 where someone recently crashed through a guardrail, leaving debris and liquor cans behind.
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"The biggest concern is safety issue, obviously," Azamov said. "And it's a lot of parties going on here. We keep calling the police. We keep raising the concern."
While the city has installed new streetlights outside the gates of Mount Soledad, hoping to help, visitors to the memorial are left shaking their heads at the damage done inside.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or sdcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
Mount Soledad is home to the National Veterans Memorial, a tribute with more than 6,000 plaques to those who served in the U.S. military.
