Skateboarder charged with damages to St. Catharines storefronts using a slingshot

A St. Catharines man has been charged for causing significant damages to downtown St. Catharines storefronts.

This one is a very different, though, as his choice of weapons was a slingshot; his getaway vehicle was a skateboard.

On June 14 at 5:35 am, police were called to a report of damage to a storefront in downtown St. Catharines.

The arrived at the business on St. Paul Street near James Street and met with the victim where they saw the glass door and a plate glass window had been shattered.  Small holes in the glass were found and the damage was estimated at $2,500.

Police were able to review closed circuit video footage of the downtown area and saw the suspect was riding a skateboard down St. Paul Street near James Street 40 minutes earlier.

In the video, the skateboarder was seen with a slingshot and a metal ‘BB’, shooting the front of the business, breaking the glass.

At 10 am the same morning, Matthew Dean Bodo, 31, of St. Catharines was charged with mischief under $5,000.

Further footage from June 10 showed a male suspect riding a skateboard on St. Paul Street near Carlisle Street when they used a sling shot to shoot the glass window of a business in that area.  In that case, damage was estimated at $5,000.

Bodo was released with a future court date of September 2 at the courthouse in St. Catharines.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact officers at 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1009208.