Police suspect juvenile intruders caused the nearly $30,000 in damage to homes in Wesley Chapel's Lexington Oaks.
By JAMES THORNER
Published April 1, 2003
WESLEY CHAPEL - Burglars left laundry room spigots running and flooded three homes under construction in Lexington Oaks, the golf course community in Wesley Chapel.
The weekend deed in the Maywood Village section of Lexington Oaks was destructive. On Monday, crews carted off wheelbarrow loads of crumbling dry wall and soggy yellow insulation.
Wood cabinets that had soaked for hours in the flooded homes were left to air out in garages. Damage estimates for each home approached $10,000.
According to a report from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, builder/developer Pulte Homes assumes juvenile vandals entered the single-story homes on Flying Ebony Lane through unlocked front doors.
In the laundry rooms next to the garages, they turned on both the hot and cold water, letting the water spill onto the floor until the houses were flooded.
Pulte's project manager got a call Sunday night from a prospective buyer who had stumbled upon the ankle deep water in one of the houses. None of the $130,000 homes, which still need wall paint and other finishing touches, were occupied.
Maywood Village is a cluster of houses under construction in the back of Lexington Oaks.
The neighborhood, under construction since 1998, should top out at about 1,500 homes 1 mile west of Interstate 75.
As of Monday, Pasco County sheriffs deputies hadn't arrested anyone. Pulte officials couldn't be reached for comment.
[Last modified April 1, 2003, 05:26:38]
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