The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 73-year-old Key West man on Wednesday for vandalizing the property of a former business partner in August.
Wesley Howard Sizemore was charged with damaging property over $1,000 and unarmed burglary.
On Aug. 18, an unknown suspect entered the victim’s property in the early morning hours, and proceeded to spray-paint the word “scum” onto various items, such as solar panels and a vehicle. Simultaneously, the suspect also hung a banner made from a bed sheet that named the victim and called them “scum” as well.
According to the report, the victim had a strong suspicion of who the culprit could be, and stated similar incidents have occurred roughly every six months since 2009. The victim stated he didn’t want to antagonize the suspect for fear of retaliation.
However, a second incident occurred just 12 days later on Aug. 30. The suspect, this time caught on surveillance video, could be seen spray painting “scum” on various objects and hanging another banner. This time, the suspect also appeared to scatter about 30 copies of a sheet that said “Scumbags. We’re gonna trash you again soon.”
At this point, the victim reported that the cumulative damage caused by the suspect exceeds $10,000. The victim then agreed to speak with detectives about the case, and identified the suspect as Sizemore. According to the victim, the two have known each other for more than 35 years, and at one point were business partners together. However, one of their business ventures failed, and the two ultimately lost money on it. The victim stated that this is the source of Sizemore’s ire, and he’s been harassing him for more than 10 years since it happened.
Detectives reviewed the footage, conducted several interviews and were ultimately able to verify that the suspect on video was Sizemore.
Deputies arrested Sizemore and transported him to the Monroe County Detention Center, where he was being held on an $80,000 bail.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.