BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Thousands of dollars in damage to the Holtville Football Field, as well as damage to fencing is still being investigated by Elmore County Sheriff’s Office investigators.
The good news is that suspects have been identified, and we hope to have an update on that soon.
Head Coach Jason Franklin told the EAN the damage occurred just before 2 a.m. Tuesday. He was notified of the damage and made a post with photos on social media. We shared that information, and offered $100 as a reward to the person who would come forward with information leading to an arrest.
We were not alone in that. Elmore County Commissioner Henry Hines had also made a promise of $100 and many area businesses and individuals also followed suit with various amounts of donations. Other people have come forward offering their money and even services to help repair the field.
Tips came pouring in, including one to the EAN that showed a Snapchat photo of the damage. We passed that information and the identity of the poster to Elmore Sheriff’s Deputies to investigate. It is unknown at this time if the person who posted the photo was involved, or shared the photo from another source.
But through their investigation, deputies were able to identify several people of interest and have questioned some of them at this time.
An early estimate on the amount of damage from Head Coach Jason Franklin was in the area of $25,000 initially. However, he told the EAN today that a closer look is being made to the damage, and an updated amount will soon be available.
While we do not know the identities or ages of those involved at this time, we did reach out to Elmore County Supt. Richard Dennis concerning the damage. He said that the school system will “absolutely” pursue criminal charges against anyone that was involved.
“You hate it when someone shows such poor choice of judgement, and tries to destroy something. They think it is funny. It is not funny,” Dennis told the EAN this morning. “There is so much hard work that goes into it. It is just stupidity and ignorance. We will seek reimbursement for repairs, time and effort. And charges will be pursued.”
There have been several theories tossed around, that perhaps this was “simply a prank” and it is just “grass that will grow back.”
Tell that to the coaches and volunteers who have worked extremely hard to get the field in great condition, prior to this destruction. It isn’t cheap, and it isn’t easy.
A prank is something harmless. This was not a prank, officials said.
We will update with more information as soon as it is available.
