MANTECA, Calif. — The Manteca Police Department is looking for whoever vandalized the cricket pitch at Doxey Park.
Officials said the cricket pitch was "covered in dog feces that had been dumped and spread around" Sunday, just one day after holding the Love Manteca event.
“It is quite frankly disgusting,” said Lt. Josh Gutierrez with the Manteca Police Department. “This was not a dog taking care of business; it was that somebody had gathered and distributed it.”
In a Facebook post, the City of Manteca described it as a hateful and senseless act. Their statement goes on to to say, “It is disheartening to think that someone would target a public space meant for enjoyment and recreation in such a disrespectful manner.”
Lt. Gutierrez said police are investigating the incident as vandalism, not a hate crime.
“It makes it something that is notably hateful to ruin something that is meant for the good of our city and our citizens to be able to use,” said Lt. Gutierrez.
No arrests have been made so far, but Gutierrez said they heard about some on social media not agreeing with the cricket pitch being placed at the park.
Some residents on and off camera said the park is sometimes used as a soccer field. Residents like Jeanne Robison wondered if the vandalism suspects disagreed with the decision to build the pitch.
“I cannot imagine anything else,” said Robison. “What reason they have besides not wanting to share the field.”
The cleanup was done by city employees. The city said the cricket pitch was funded by a grant, not the city budget.
“It just made me angry that people would deface something like that, something that was made for the good of the community,” said Robison.
Manteca Police is asking anyone with information or video evidence to reach out at 209-456-8101.
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