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July 15, 2009

Eustace teens charged with criminal mischief

By Rich Flowers News Editor

Two men who admitted driving onto turf at the Eustace High School football field and causing major damage remained in jail Wednesday.

Shelby Turner, 19, and Christopher Glenn Hall, 19, both of Eustace, were each charged with criminal mischief over $100,000 but less than $200,000. Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Henry Ashford set bond for both at $25,000, but increased it to $50,000 Wednesday.

Eustace Police Chief Robert Walker said damage to the three-year-old FieldTurf surface is somewhere in the $350,000 to $400,000 range.

EPD officer Eddy Boyle said the damage was done in a 1999 Ford F-250 pickup. Boyle said the vehicle crashed though two fences to gain access to the field. Once inside, the truck left tire marks from the goal line to the 50-yard-line and damage to other spots on the field.

He said he captured the subjects by looking at video tape from numerous cameras at the school.

A faulty signal light on the right front of the pickup tipped the officer to the possible identity of the suspects.

Boyle noticed it in the video and narrowed down his search to a few kids who have been in trouble with the law before. He said he found the pickup, and also a footprint of a Nike shoe, which matched a pair owned by Hall.

Hall has had numerous run-ins with the law, according to Henderson County Sheriff’s Department records.

The pickup belonged to Turner, but he had allowed Hall to drive it when the mischief occurred.

Turner had no previous criminal record, according to HCSO records.

The turf is not the old carpet-style AstroTurf, meaning the entire rug doesn’t have to be repaired. But repairing the spots with rubber and other materials will be costly.

Installation of the FieldTurf playing surface began in November 2006, immediately after the close of the Bulldogs football season. The school district contracted with U.S. Track and Turf to not only overhaul the football field, but the surrounding track at a cost of about $525,000.

Athletic Director Doug Wendell said the turf is under warranty but that it might be impossible to remove the tire tracks before and during the fall season.

Eustace followed Mabank and Athens in laying down artificial turf, but was one of the first schools of its size in the state to make the transition from natural surface. Superintendent Coy Holcomb said the board of trustees began studying the possibility of getting an artificial surface mainly as a curiosity, but found the cost was within reach of the district.

With both football and soccer programs using the field, the surface is pretty much in use year round.

Art Lawler contributed to this story.

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