Coppell Crime Stoppers offering reward after student’s tires slashed four times
After seven slashed tires and over $5,000 in damage, Coppell High School junior CJ Campbell and his family have turned to the Coppell community for answers.
From September to December 2016, only months after getting his licence, the tires of Campbell’s Jeep have been slashed on four different occasions and keyed on two occasions. While this is the most extreme example, Campbell says he has dealt with bullying since he had a falling out with his friend at Coppell Middle School West.
“In eighth grade I had him in almost every one of my classes,” Campbell said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time because I thought he would knock off [the teasing]. But he didn’t and I ended up switching my schedule to get away from him in most of my classes.”
While switching classes took care of the temporary problem, the bullying followed him to high school, where the snide remarks and teasing continued from a new group of people.
“It was just multiple people making ‘short’ comments,” he said. “Almost anything they could pinpoint they would make fun of.”
Despite the harassment he was facing at school, Campbell didn’t think much of it when the two drivers side tires of his car were slashed for the first time on Sept. 17. He left his place of work, Twisted Root Burger Co., at around midnight and was greeted by a lopsided car with key marks on the side.
“We thought it was random,” CJ’s mother Norma Campbell said. “That day, he kind of had to park off to the side parking lot away from the restaurant, so I thought it was just kids messing around. They saw the Jeep parked out there by itself and the parking lot isn’t that well lit. School had just started so he hadn’t told me that anyone was giving him a hard time.”
The Campbell family started to make the connection between the bullying and the vandalism on Nov. 2, when CJ’s tires were slashed on two occasions over the course of one day.
Sometime during the school day, two of the Jeep’s tires were slashed in the CHS parking lot and, again, key marks were made on the vehicle. The car was towed and repaired, then later that night, a single tire on the car was slashed in the Campbells’ driveway.
“I knew someone was targeting me the third time it happened,” Campbell said. “I was parked next to my dad’s truck in the driveway and his car was untouched but my tire was slashed.”
At this point, the case was being investigated by the Coppell Police Department and the family decided to turn to Coppell Crime Stoppers for help identifying those responsible. Tips related to the crimes may offer up to a $2,000 reward.
“It obviously wasn’t just a spur of the moment thing where they saw the Jeep there,” Norma Campbell said. “This was really planned and thought out.”
According to CHS Student Resource Officer Chris Cobb, the extent of the damage pushes the charges beyond even a Class A Misdemeanor, the highest classification.
“It could be getting on up there in the felony range,” Cobb said. “It’s serious. If it’s the same person you could group all four incidences together and make it one charge instead of four separate charges.”
Because of cases like this and others, Coppell ISD is working on a plan to install cameras in the student parking lot along with new light poles.
Assistant superintendent Sid Grant addressed the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees on Jan. 23, saying financial implications of adding the lights are still under review by the district.
“There’s no room for vandalism in our community,” CHS Principal Mike Jasso said. “Certainly not here at CHS where we’re just trying to come to school and find our way through the day.”
Jasso says there is no timeline for the installation, however, the district is working with campus administration to determine appropriate locations for the cameras inside and outside the building.
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Sakshi Venkatraman is a senior at Coppell High School. This is her second year as news editor and third year on staff. Sakshi enjoys writing creatively...
