Man arrested after more than 100 vehicles vandalized at three Schaumburg dealerships

A man in his late 20s is in custody after he was arrested early Thursday at one of three Schaumburg auto dealerships where dozens of vehicles were vandalized.

No motive has been determined for the damage at Bob Rohrman’s Schaumburg Ford, 815 E. Golf Road; Patrick BMW, 700 E. Golf Road; and Schaumburg Honda, 750 E. Golf Road, according to Schaumburg police Sgt. Matt Christenson.

The suspect was arrested near Schaumburg Honda about 12:30 a.m., he said.

The total number of vandalized vehicles was still being determined Thursday morning, but Schaumburg Honda General Manager Matthew Ashford said his dealership saw 63 of its vehicles damaged along with 20 more belonging to customers.

All the damage was to rear windows. Ashford said he hoped supply chain issues would not slow the pace of repairs.

The security staff working at the jointly owned Schaumburg Ford across the street first noticed damage on their property before spotting the suspect and calling police, Ashford said. About 19 vehicles were damaged at the Ford dealership, he said.

He didn’t know where the arrest took place and whether a chase was involved.

Ashford believes this was a crime of opportunity, as the vandal went from one neighboring dealership to another. He said he’s never experienced vandalism like this in 24 years as a dealership manager.

Charges had not yet been filed late Thursday morning but were expected to be either later in the day or on Friday, according to Christenson.

Ashford said his dealership told police it intends to press charges, but 20 of his customers are individual victims as well.