Three juveniles have been charged with malicious mischief in aSaturday night vandalism spree that damaged or destroyed around 30mailboxes in the West Lincoln area, county officials said.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department does not release the nameof juvenile offenders, but Sheriff Steve Rushing said two of thejuveniles are 16 years old and the other one is 15.

He said they hit several different roads in the West Lincolncommunity.

“It was right at 30 mailboxes,” Rushing said. “It was some south ofHighway 84 on the west side, and then a few north of 84.”

Rushing said all the vandalism took place Saturday night aftermidnight as far as officials can tell. He said to his knowledgethey had vandalized boxes on Lower Meadville Road, West LincolnDrive, Wills Trail, Gene Trail, Fauver Lane, Breckenridge Lane,Arlington Drive, Johnson Grove Road, Sunflower Lane, Watts Lane,Hurricane Lake Drive, and Tiger Trail.

“They made the rounds, unfortunately,” he said. “They were just outin the middle of the night hitting mailboxes, but really there’snot an excuse for it.”

Mailbox vandalism is actually a federal offense, under Title 18United States Code, Section 1707, but Rushing said it’s usuallydealt with locally.

“It’s a federal offense, but a lot of times it’s left to the localagency to handle,” he said. “If we catch them we charge them, andif the homeowner wants them to replace the mailbox we’ll go thatroute.”

The juvenile offenders will be turned over to youth court, Rushingsaid.

“They’ll handle it from there,” he said.

In the meantime, Rushing said, anyone whose mailbox was damaged buthas not been reported yet is asked to call the LCSD at601-833-5231.