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A 49-year-old man caused more than $1 million in damage using a slingshot and marbles to smash the windows of Melbourne apartment buildings, gyms and restaurants, as well as the offices of two MPs, police say.<\/p>\n
Sam Chadwick, from Cheltenham, faced the Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court on Tuesday charged with more than 80 counts of vandalism allegedly committed over four months. Police say federal independent MP Zoe Daniel\u2019s office was among the properties damaged.<\/p>\n
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Glass at the Victoria and Vine Apartments in Collingwood was shattered on five occasions between October 15 and November 4.<\/span><\/p>\n Chadwick and two teenage boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are accused of using a slingshot to fire marbles at buildings in Bentleigh, Collingwood, Cremorne, Docklands, Mentone, Richmond, South Yarra and St Kilda between September and December.<\/p>\n The cost to replace shattered windows at an office building at 5 Queens Road was more than $150,000. Almost half of the affected properties are yet to submit damage bills to detectives from the Port Phillip crime investigation unit.<\/p>\n Chadwick is also charged with damaging the Brighton East office of Daniel on October 21 and the Bentleigh office of state Labor MP Nick Staikos between October 13 and 16.<\/p>\n A generic image of a slingshot.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>iStock<\/cite><\/p>\n More than 60 businesses and apartment buildings were damaged and several were targeted repeatedly on different nights.<\/p>\n Ground-floor glass at the Victoria and Vine Apartments in Collingwood was shattered five times between October 15 and November 4. The damage bill at the building is expected to exceed $50,000.<\/p>\n Chadwick is also accused by police of endangering a person on December 1, when he allegedly used the slingshot in Hampton East.<\/p>\n Police say that when they executed a warrant at Chadwick\u2019s home in Cheltenham on December 13, they also found a small cannabis crop and seized six firearms, four extendable batons and four slingshots, before suspending two firearms licences.<\/p>\n Detectives from Port Phillip CIU arrested Chadwick and the two teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, at the property. The trio have been charged with a combined 258 counts of criminal damage.<\/p>\n Chadwick, who is on bail, did not enter a plea on Tuesday. He is due to face a committal mention hearing on March 6.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n