Vandalism again hits California Route 66 Museum

The California Route 66 Museum in Victorville experienced its second break-in during the past two weeks.

But this time, the burglar didn’t get inside.

The glass on the museum’s west door was smashed in, but the perpetrator didn’t take anything, reported the Victorville Daily Press.

“Luckily, the guy wasn’t able to crawl in this time and take anything,” museum President Sue Bridges said.

The incident was captured by the museum’s surveillance cameras, shown to the Daily Press. A man in a bicycle is seen leaving the bike in the museum’s parking lot before he walks up to the west entrance.

The man then throws a large rock at the door twice before it smashes a hole in the bottom panel. He then tries to crawl through the hole but immediately pulls back, before running back to his bicycle and riding away.

“The guy brought his own rocks and everything,” Bridges said, mentioning museum staff had recently cleared rocks near the entrances — a necessary safety measure in an area that’s experienced more than its fair share of crime recently.

The burglar remains at large. Sheriff’s deputies are investigating. In the meantime, the museum plans to add security features.

One good thing occurred in the wake of the previous break-in — the newspaper reports more people are donating artifacts to the museum and are volunteering.

Another burglar Jan 22 broke into the museum, toppled glass display cases and stole T-shirts and artifacts. Arrested hours later was Ray Fonder, 25, and he remains in custody. The damage allegedly done by Fonder caused $30,000 in damage. Insurance will cover most of the loss, but the museum needs to pay the deductible and replace broken artifacts.

A benefit fundraiser at the museum will be 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 24, with all money going to help cover the costs of the break-ins. A GoFundMe page to help repair the damage also has raised more than $3,500.

(Image of the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville via Wikimedia Commons)

3 thoughts on “Vandalism again hits California Route 66 Museum

  1. Geez – again. What is in there in there that could easily be fenced? Artifacts have to be sold on an individual basis over time to just the right collectors. Has the Barrel House Liquor store been hit too? Those are the only two businesses left on D Street in an otherwise deserted downtown. Sad really because 10-15 years ago 7th Street near D had morphed into an “old town” antique row like Orange or Carlsbad and then one by one, they closed leaving behind a veritable ghost town. Now it is just deserted although the newer installed street lights at least case a warm glow over the street. So sorry this has happened again.

  2. What is it about people such as these two? In the UK we have had heritage railway lines damaged by vandals with similar minds. Is it jealousy that their lives are so empty?

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