A 7-month siege of vehicular vandalism via slingshot came to a halt in Forest Grove as police handcuffed a man accused of launching ball bearings at moving cars. According to KOIN, reports of the scatter-shot damage began surfacing in October 2023. It wasn't until this past Friday night that authorities were able to finally track down and arrest 28-year-old Caleb Spurlock.
Forest Grove police disclosed that their investigation kicked off when vehicles were tagged by BBs, ball bearings, and other projectiles around E Street and Pacific Avenue. Initially, the attacks abruptly stopped in November with no suspects pinpointed. But the assailant seemed to have been unable to lay to rest his bizarre campaign, leading to his capture near the original scene of the shootings.
The breakthrough in the case came around 10:30 p.m. on May 24. Spurlock was found in possession of a slingshot and ball bearings at the time of his arrest—a mere minutes after he had reportedly struck yet another car. The string of attacks accumulated a dozen victims over its course, each with varying degrees of damage reported to their vehicles.
After his arrest by Forest Grove officers and detectives, Spurlock was booked into the Washington County Jail facing an artillery of charges. These include Criminal Mischief in the First and Second Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Reckless Endangering, and Assault in both the Third and Fourth Degree. KATU detailed the charges, painting a portrait of a man who sought to quite literally sling his frustrations onto unsuspecting drivers.
As the legal process unwinds, the community of Forest Grove can momentarily breathe easier. The chaos of unexpected vehicular damage has been pinned to a name, a face, and one handheld weapon of choice—a slingshot. With Spurlock detained, the seemingly random attacks have come to an end, but the scars left on the psyche of this quiet Oregon town may well be indelible.
