Youth vandalize property in Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club

Detectives at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office are piecing together evidence in a rash of vandalism that hit the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club Dec. 16.

Lakewood Ranch Town Hall’s Operations Department Field Office Manager Tracy Hunt reported to Lakewood Ranch Community Development District supervisors today that a group of youth manually knocked over more than a dozen signs, including stop and speed signs, within the Country Club. Witnesses saw the youth walking along The Masters Avenue around 2:30 a.m. No residents reported the incidents, but operations staff was alerted to the vandalism later that morning and began installing temporary stop signs.

The operations department is evaluating which signs can be salvaged, but costs for new signs is estimated at about $500 per sign, if complete replacements are required.

Hunt said Lakewood Ranch CDDs 2, 5 and 6 all suffered damages to property, as did the Country Club/Edgewater Village Association and individual homeowners.

“I’m sure they’re will be more we find today,” she said.

 Some homeowners have turned in surveillance video to the sheriff’s office in efforts to identify the suspects.

Lakewood Ranch Town Hall will send out an email to residents in an effort to solicit more information on the incident, as well.

Representatives of the sheriff's office could not be reached by press time.