By KAY S. PEDROTTI
Staff Writer

Andrew D. Mycoskie, 17, of Peachtree City, has been charged with 19 counts of criminal damage to property in a case apparently involving jumping on and otherwise damaging expensive cars at local automobile businesses.

Operators of Goodson's Import Auto Repair, Peachtree Auto Leasing, Auto Pro and Peachtree Paint and Body Shop found numerous, mostly foreign, cars, with crushed hoods, roofs and windshields on the morning of Aug. 6. Peachtree City police detectives David Hill and Sgt. Tom Jackson arrested and charged Mycoskie after following leads from previous vandalism cases, Police Chief James Murray said.

Murray said that the felony offense of second-degree criminal property damage carries a maximum penalty of one-to-five years in prison. Intentional damages over $500 are "about the same as auto theft," Murray added.

Local shop operators have estimated damages to the 19 vehicles, including one golf cart, at more than $30,000. Most of the cars were imports, including Porches, Mercedes and Jaguars.

Mycoskie remained in Fayette County Jail under $56,000 bond as of press time. Murray said the bond amount was for the first 17 charges, and when warrants are served for the final two charges, additional bond will likely be added.

A "probable cause" hearing for Mycoskie is set for Sept. 3 in Fayette County Magistrate Court, Murray said.

OTHER POLICE CASES

Jeff Weaver, 19, was charged with rape and statutory rape on Aug. 14. Murray said the arrest followed investigation of an assault on a former girlfriend of Weaver's, and is Peachtree City's first reported rape case for 1998.

The chief added that the arrest of a 15-year-old may solve a string of golf-cart thefts plaguing the city. The juvenile has been charged with 11 counts of theft by taking of a motor vehicle, he said.