Bay Village police say a local man is facing charges after someone allegedly tried to set the Bay High School soccer field on fire on May 18, then took off toward Long Beach before officers were even called.
Maintenance staff at Bay High reported the incident, and the suspect is now charged with criminal damage, theft, and criminal trespass, according to the police blotter. Those entries were detailed in a recent report from Cleveland.com, which notes the person left the field heading north before officers were alerted.
Where It Happened
Bay High sits at 29230 Wolf Road, according to the district website, and its athletic complex includes the soccer pitch used by varsity squads and community groups. The field is a regular home turf for the Bay Rockets during soccer season, which makes any report of someone trying to damage it more than just a minor annoyance for school officials and neighborhood players.
How The Charges Stack Up
Under Ohio law, criminal damaging or endangering is usually treated as a second-degree misdemeanor, but it can be bumped up if the behavior creates a risk of physical harm to people, according to the Ohio Revised Code. Criminal trespass is typically a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and theft penalties depend on how much the property involved is worth. State law also allows courts to order restitution to cover repair costs when property is damaged.
The same week’s Bay Village police blotter was busy with other calls, too. Officers stopped a motorist on Lake Road who did not have a valid license and had active warrants. Juveniles were reported to have thrown an object at a car and then followed it into Westlake. In another case, a neighbor said bottles were being tossed outside her door. A separate entry notes a man who walked into town from Cleveland was taken to a hospital after saying he felt unwell. All of those incidents appear in the same blotter entry as the high school field case and were summarized by Cleveland.com.
Anyone with information about the May 18 field incident can contact the Bay Village Police Department at 440-871-1234, and should call 911 in an emergency. The department posts weekly press releases and police blotters on its website for residents who want a closer look at what officers are dealing with around town.
