JOHNSTON, Iowa — Earlier this week, someone, or multiple people vandalized Johnston Little League's two facility sheds where the league keeps its machinery and carts.
It's not the first time the league's sheds have been broken into, but the damage has never been this extensive.
On Monday, the league's $12,000 Gator was stolen from inside one of its sheds. But the theft didn't stop there.
The next day, its second shed wasn't just broken into, but also vandalized. After taking the league's four golf carts, someone, or some people allegedly drove the city's little league's utility tractor through the shed's garage door.
The damage was left behind for the league, and for facilities manager Mark Avaux to repair.
"Driving the tractor through the garage door, and destroying the garage door, that's a first. OK, that's never happened," Avaux told Local 5 News on Saturday.
Days later, the Johnston and Urbandale police departments helped return the Gator to the league, unscathed. The four golf carts on the other hand, once recovered by the league, suffered a different fate: roofs ripped off, and cart seats torn apart.
"It does happen, but it doesn't alleviate the frustration or the fact that it doesn't need to happen," Avaux said.
The league estimates the total damage to the shed garage and to the golf carts will cost around $5,000. Money it will have to pay out of its own pockets.
An investigation remains ongoing into who vandalized the shed and initially stole the league's property, and why they did it. Local 5 News will update this story when more details become available.