Time Expires For Accused Parking Meter Vandals In St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Petersburg Police say they've arrested those they believe are responsible for vandalizing nearly 75 parking meters throughout downtown St. Pete over the past several weeks.

On Friday evening, police arrested Nicholas Ryan Scott Windholz, 34, and Kiersten Lynn Lyons, 32, in connection with the vandalism.

Windholz is charged with three counts of felony criminal mischief and Lyons is charged with one count.

On Nov. 5, 21 parking meters along the 100 block of Beach Drive Northeast and Bayshore Drive were vandalized. The coin and credit card slots were sprayed with a foam sealant, so they couldn't be used.

Police said this was the third time since Oct. 27 that foam sealant was used to damage parking meters. On Oct. 27, 27 meters were damage in the 600 block of Central Avenue between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Then, on Nov. 1, 26 meters were damaged in the 400 block of Central Avenue between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Police said the vandals did thousands of dollars' worth of damage. Each meter costs about $550. City workers are attempting to salvage as many as possible by taking them apart and cleaning out the sealant.

The vandalism prompted St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman to issue a warning to the vandals on Twitter: "We will find you. We will prosecute you."

Just two days later, he kept that promise when police made the two arrests.

Police had been reviewing surveillance videos from businesses in the area in the hopes of spotting the vandals in the act. However, police haven't said what led to Friday's arrests of Windholz and Lyons or if they were acting alone.

There's also no word on the motivation behind the vandalism including whether it's tied to the city's decision to extend metered parking to include nights and weekends. Currently, it's free to park nights and weekends in downtown St. Petersburg.