By KAY S. PEDROTTI
Staff Writer

Nineteen foreign cars at repair shops in Peachtree City sustained a total of more than $30,000 in damages at the feet of a vandal last week.

Police Chief James Murray said the damages to Porsche, Mercedes and Jaguar autos appeared to be "a very targeted attack ... someone meant to inflict a lot of damage by jumping up and down repeatedly on roofs, hoods and windshields."

Fourteen of the damaged cars were parked at Goodson's Import Auto Service on Huddleston Drive. Manager Mark Goodson has offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandal.

Goodson said five other cars at nearby businesses also were damaged: three at Peachtree Leasing, and one each at Auto Pro and Peachtree Paint and Body. He said also that he is now installing hidden video cameras.

The cars were easily accessible, he said, "because Peachtree City didn't allow fencing ... maybe they will now."

Chief Murray said the perpetrator is "a large person, probably 175-200 pounds to do that kind of damage." He added that there is evidence "that if we catch a suspect, we can definitely connect him with the crime." He said several detectives are working on the case, checking for unhappy customers or disgruntled former employees, along with just plain vandals or someone with a grudge against imported cars.

Goodson says he believes the incident, which took place after midnight the night of Aug. 5-6, is just "felony malicious vandalism, that might not be explained in any logical way because this person's noodle is just way out of whack." A Sharpsburg resident, Goodson has been in the auto repair business in Peachtree City for about six years.

He says also that he believes "it took more than one person to do this ... two of the cars were pushed around to the front of my building."

"This is a really unusual case," Murray said. "There was a Corvette there that wasn't touched. We'll work hard to make an arrest as soon as possible."