Is this technically vandalism?

Sometimes the cops “don’t want to get involved”, either.

They don’t want to make things criminal matters if they don’t have to be, as a rule. Who needs the hassle? They figure if the guy is your roommate, then unless you’re both criminals, he wouldn’t be staying with you. And they figured that since you called them, then you (at least) must not be a criminal.

Stabbing a wall with a knife… that’s a good one.

I don’t care weather they “want to get involved.” My taxes pay them to get involved. Isin’t vandalism technically a crime though weather the cop is too lazy to write a report or not. This presents two apparent options:

1) Charge him w\ vandalism. Make him fork out lawyers fees, court costs, and pay restitution

2) File a small claims case where I will get a “judgment” that he will never pay anyway.

Option 1 sounds better to me.

I’m sure that if you want to escalate it into a criminal thing that they’ll oblige, however unwillingly. But look at it from their point of view: you’re roommates, so there is some kind of ongoing relationship between the two of you, even if it is temporarily strained or breaking; he didn’t assault you, which would have led to an assumption of charges; a criminal charge is going to get a lot of wheels spinning, and the police probably assume (rightly in most cases, I think) that once the two of you cool off you’ll drop the charge after he agrees to pay the damages. So why should they set all those wheels in motion when the two of you can and should work it out like adults?

Vandalism is a charge that makes sense to me. There should be a police report in order to take it to the civil thing to collect damages. That is if he doesn’t apologize and pay you. Did they take a report?

Was this done while threatening you? That could be a different charge….?

It’s not a crime as that’s, contractually, you’re property more than likely when it comes to damage to the property that’s not wear and tear under the lease. A lease transfers most of the property rights associated with the land to you – as well as your roommate if your roommate is named on the lease. The point is that in that case, the cops aren’t going to get involved considering that, technically, you all are busting up your own property.

The problem with “you being responsible” for it is that if the roommate’s not on the lease, and you didn’t get him to chip in on the security…that’s on you. When someone lives in a place, it’s as much theirs as anyone’s as far as criminal law is going to be concerned.

@CyanoticWasp

Because he dosn’t want to handle it like an adult. He skipped out and left on me with a months worth of electric bills and a week of rent along with the vandalism that he repaired. Harshly put I want to recover what I can and fuck him royally.

I subletted my rooms to him. He damaged property which I am responsible for, responsible to pay.

If I lease a car and someone vandalizes it, are they still responsible?

Who should I talk to in the police department to escalate this charge?

Do you rent this property? Do you rent out to this “roommate” from this property? Has the owner been notified? Is the owner aware that you are renting out space?
I would think it is vandilism but to the owner’s property (not yours, if you are not the owner). But that may depend on where you live as well.

@PluckyDog

He was not notified but he knows about the roomates and doesn’t care. What does that matter for? He damaged property which I am in control of that I have to pay for, meaning he damaged ME!

I would say that it depends on where you live then. Rental, lease, landlord, tenant.. etc laws can vary greatly with country, state, province and so on.

If he skipped out on you, and he was a sublettor – that’s on you. Much like your landlord would have to sue you for back rent if you skipped out, you have to sue him. The landlord isn’t responsible for someone screwing you over, unfortunately.

@iamthemob

That’s a side issue. The issue in this question is the vandalism. He screwed me over but I could still make his life hell and get back SOMETHING

This section is called malicious mischief. Look at 594 at 594.6.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=594-625c
seems like if you are not the property owner and if you do not hold an insurance policy, you don’t have much claim on material losses at this point. Did you have a signed contract with this guy? If you did not, likely you are totally out of luck unless your landlord initiates a process.

The police see this kind of thing every day, and they truly do not want to get involved in this kind of juvenile snit between what should be and appears to others to be adults. You think they haven’t seen it before? They certainly have. And they know that if they assist you in escalating this as far as it can be escalated now, to satisfy whatever feelings of vengeance you have, then they will probably be taking another call from you later on, when your tires are slashed some night and “you know who did it” but can’t prove it.

And then since you can’t prove that he’s going to do ‘whatever’ to get back at you making a legal case out of this, they’re very likely to find him complaining about anonymous damage done to him some day… or one of you dead outside a bar some night. They’re really hoping, without a great deal of expectation, that both of you will grow up and be responsible adults here and make the problems between you go away, but they’ll be happy enough if either one of you does that.

Make the police happy. Grow up, make better choices in roommates, pay for the lesson in choosing badly, and go on and have a good life. (Plus, if they get a whiff of you wanting to use them “to get back at” him, they will make you feel like such a little dick you’ll wish you could turn back time just to not make that call.)

Did you have a written agreement with him?

I suspect this is one of those experiences where you cross the line into adulthood—when you are responsible for something, you need to do due diligence to protect your interests. Your best recourse is to take pictures of the damage, repair it, and sue him in small claims court. If you don’t have have a written agreement, he could argue he was an invited guest, and isn’t liable for the utilities.

@BarnacleBill

I do have a written agreement but what you and everyoen else dosn’t understand is small claims court is a JOKE, it’s a complete mockery of the system.

You pay $100 to file, another $40 to serve the subpoena and what do you win?? A judgment ordering him to pay…. What do most people do? Throw it in the trash!! Then I have to pay MORE money $180 for a judge to investigate his status and call a hearing to garnish his wages. On top of that he is exempt from garnishment if he meats a whole laundry list of criteria. What else can I do? Collections. No one gives a shit about credit anymore, particularly him. That’s what small claims is….

@CaliBuddz

I don’t care weather they “want to get involved.” My taxes pay them to get involved. Isin’t vandalism technically a crime though weather the cop is too lazy to write a report or not.

Your righteous indignation on your own thread here, about this wrong that has been done to you, regarding damages to your property or property that you will be held responsible rings a little hollow, considering that, only a short while ago, on this thread, you had this advice for the OP, to help her avoid being held responsible for the damage she causes the next time she his someone else’s car, where you said:

That’s why it’s always best to at least get out of the car and PRETEND you’re writing a note so that no one will rat out your tag
See this however you want, do whatever you want, but don’t get so goddam self-righteous about damages to your property, about whether not something it crime, after just telling someone how to best get away with their next misdemeanor and how to get away with not being held responsible for damaging someone else’s property.

As to answer to your question; I’m with @CyanoticWasp. This might just be one of those life lesson sort of things. Screen your roommates better, get everything in writing next and take care of business, require a security deposit, this is exactly the kind of situation that a security deposit is for; so landlords don’t have to go to court every time somebody punches a hole in the wall.

You ask if punching hole in wall with knife with knife is a criminal act of vandalism. I think
the intention behind his action is the factor. By this was it done with the intent of vandalism
or was it just horsing around. It seems the police may have thought this act to be so, other-
wise, they may have arrested him giving you grounds for prosecution. However, if you are
the landlord, I’m sure you have provision that any wreckless damage by tenant would be
taken from security deposit. I think the police were mistaken as to action you can take.
If he does take you to court, that police document and what seems to be you were
a witness should go in your favor.

Ho! Bussss-ted by @lillycoyote!

Dude, if you think this is bad now, just wait until you discover D-I-V-O-R-C-E. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

I have read the other answers and some are correct and some are not.

I see this in a different light. i would have made a police report for one reason…...the use of a knife to stab a wall. if this person does this, he may just use the knife on you. just to be safe, i would have made a police report for you.

The proper person to make the police report for vandalism, would be the apartment manager. he has insurance to cover the vandalism. why not call him and see what he has to say?