Two accused of mailbox vandalism

The Baker County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two men accused of taking baseball bats to at least 30 mailboxes around Baker Valley.

Cody Matthew Janzen, 19, of Haines and Josiah Marion Kenworthy, 18, of 2175 Colorado Ave., were taken into custody Wednesday and are being held at the Baker County Jail, Sheriff Mitch Southwick said.

Mailboxes from Lindley Lane to Mill Creek, Pocahontas and Brown roads were smashed in the vandalism spree, the sheriff said. Eleven mailboxes were reportedly damaged the night of July 1 and 19 more were bashed Tuesday night.

One wooden bat was broken as the suspected vandals drove through the valley swinging at the mailboxes, the sheriff said. They later substituted a metal bat, he said.

The case will go to a grand jury after the sheriff’s department has compiled all of the details of the investigation, which is continuing, he said.

“Depending on the final amount of overall restitution or damage, we may end up with felony charges,” Shirtcliff said. “We’re still in the process of trying to determine the damages.”

Second-degree criminal mischief is charged in cases where the damage exceeds $50. First-degree criminal mischief, a Class C felony, is charged when the damage totals more than $1,000.