::: COMMUNITY NEWS

Vandals tossed oil and drink mixes into Gordon Zanotti's pool.

Vandals dump food items into family's pool

Published Thursday, January 4, 2007

"It was a real mess and a really vicious thing to do," said Gordon Zanotti about the large containers of cooking oil and drink mixes that were dumped into the family's swimming pool.

The family of four was out when the vandalism occurred at their Murieta North home Saturday night.
The yard of the home backs up to a swath of wooded common area frequented by deer, and redwood trees and bushes provide privacy from neighboring homes.

Lids from large-size containers of peanut oil, Tang and Nestle's Quik were found on the ground under one of the redwoods the morning of New Year's Eve. Gordon and his wife Sandra think somebody stood there the night before and pitched the opened containers over the wrought iron fencing into the pool.

"It's disturbing," said Gordon, who doubts the attack was random because the home is located on a quiet cul-de-sac and the pool is hidden from the street. Although his teenaged daughter and son "don't have a problem with anyone," he theorizes their presence in the household flagged the home to other teenagers in the neighborhood. Someone might have thought it was a funny prank, or they might be vengeful, he said.

While the couple wanted parents to "take a look in the pantry and see what they're missing," they were also reluctant to make the incident public. "People get a bad impression of kids. It's usually just a couple bad apples," explained Gordon. "There sure are a lot of good kids here. … Parents don't always know what their kids are doing."

The pool required considerable effort to clean, and the Zanottis are hopeful there is no permanent damage.

Photo: Gordon Zanotti

The Zanottis had to clean the mess from the pool, and they hope the damage isn't permanent.

They reported the vandalism to Security and filed a report with the Sheriff's Department.

Sandra Zanotti posted the following letter on RanchoMurieta.com this week, asking residents for any information they might have about the incident.

"Wanted: Are you missing the following items from your pantry? Large 58-ounce container of Nestle Quik, large 58-ounce container of Tang and a gallon container of Safeway brand peanut oil. If so, they were found in my pool on the morning of 12/31/06. Somebody threw them over the fence into the pool the night before. I believe they were neighborhood teenagers. I am hoping there is no permanent damage to the pool but I would like to get more information on who would have done something like this. Please call me if you have any information at 354-4024."