In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 2, police said two individuals drove vehicles onto the baseball field at Paddleford Park in the Village of Sherburne. (Photo from Sherburne PD)

CHENANGO COUNTY– Village of Sherburne Police and Norwich City Police Departments have arrested two individuals for vandalisms that occurred at Sherburne’s Paddleford Park Little League Field and at Norwich’s Angelino Fields. The crimes nearly delayed a little league program.

Norwich Police Chief Scott Burlison said the investigation was still ongoing and multiple incidents involving multiple agencies were underway. Norwich and Sherburne police are coordinating with other law enforcement to see if the separate similar incidents reported in Preston and Plymouth were also related.

The Sherburne Area Little League was scheduled to have their annual Opening Day Celebration on Saturday, May 9. Two area businesses stepped up to help restore the fields as quickly as possible.

TJ’s Lawn Service and Bagnall Properties teamed up to donate hydro seeding supplies and heavy equipment to restore the fields.

With the help of the businesses, opening day will continue as planned.

The celebration will kick off with a parade in Sherburne starting at New York Central Mutual and proceeding to Paddleford Park at 10 a.m.

Baseball games will begin at 11 a.m. and continue throughout the day.

“We would love for everyone to participate on Saturday,” said Sherburne Area Little League President Kate Hatton. She encouraged everyone to come out and cheer for the kids and to support the area vendors who will come out for the occasion.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 2, police said two individuals drove vehicles onto the baseball field at Paddleford Park in the Village of Sherburne.

“The vehicles caused significant damage to the lawn and baseball fields by spinning tires and performing donuts across the grass, leaving deep ruts and heavily disturbed ground surfaces,” explained Sherburne Police Officer Ryan Legacy.

The Norwich City Police and Sherburne Police Department have charged the same individuals for separate incidents in the two communities.

Police arrested Brayden A. Pollock, 21, of Plymouth, along with an unnamed 17-year-old Norwich youth for allegedly causing significant damage to both fields during the early morning hours of Saturday, May 2.

Each individual is charged with one count of second degree criminal mischief in each jurisdiction, Class D felonies, for allegedly causing more than $2,500 in damage to public property in both cases.

Pollock was issued tickets to appear in Norwich City Court and Village of Sherburne Court at a later dates. The juvenile, along with their parents, was issued a juvenile appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Youth Court at a later date, in accordance with New York State law. The juvenile was released to his guardian.

Sherburne Officer Legacy explained restoration of the fields will require extensive labor, including re-grading the damaged areas, removing mud and debris, and leveling and re-seeding the fields.

According to Legacy and Norwich Chief Burlison, the departments received numerous tips from the community to aid in identifying the suspects. Community members sent in videos and footage from nearby homes and businesses to assist the police.

In Norwich, at around 6:20 a.m. on May 2, city police found the damage to Angelino Field on Borden Avenue while on patrol.

Local citizens also posted it on Facebook and police received many tips and quickly found out about the other incidents in the area. The damage was examined and footage at the scene reviewed, said Burlison. He said the defendants used multiple vehicles.

“During the investigation, nothing came out about alcohol or drugs, none was found. It seems to be a case of kids being kids, and causing thousands of dollars in damages,” said Burlison.

“I don’t think they understood the repercussion of a criminal record and the extent of the criminal damage they’ve caused and liability they have. One is a youth, and youth aren’t as responsible, so the cost of those actions are on the parents. It will also impact their automobile insurance too,” warned the chief.

- By Jessica Benson and Tyler Murphy, Evening Sun

jbenson@evesun.com, tmurphy@evesun.com