Reward offered in vandalism of water tower in Trimble County

The Trimble County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Henry County Water District No. 2 to identify the person or persons responsible for the vandalism of a Trimble County water tower twice in 2023 by offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

The tower, located along U.S. 42 between Bedford and Sligo, is owned by Henry County Water District No. 2 but serves customers in Trimble County. Police say the massive storage tower was vandalized twice in 2023 when shots from a high-powered rife pierced the half-inch steel tank causing it to leak until repairs could be made.

According to Trimble Sheriff Charles Kelton, the first damage was discovered on Jan. 24, 2023, when the tower was obviously shot with a high-powered rifle. The tower was vandalized again in a second shooting on Nov. 6, 2023. Both incidents left the tower streaming water from near its top.

The incidents resulted in an extreme amount of water being lost until repairs could be made by patching the tower from the outside. Kelton said repairs cost $10,000 to $15,000, so based on the vandalism and cost of repairs the person responsible is facing serious charges.

The sheriff’s office was alerted both times when neighbors from a surrounding subdivision reported seeing water leaking from the tower. Kentucky State Police took the initial reports on the damages but the sheriff’s office and water district are also investigating.

Kelton suspects that both incidents are by the same shooter based on the location, angle of the shot and that the same side was shot each time.

“Both times it happened was on the same side of the water tower, which is the north-west side,” Kelton said. “The steel for those things is a half-inch thick, so it takes a very large caliber rifle to shoot from that distance to penetrate it.”

Kelton said despite having a good idea of the angle and direction of the shots, police have developed no strong suspect in the case. “All we have is the direction the bullet came from,” he said. “It’s a hard case to solve because … there are rifles that can shoot a long distance and they could be sitting anywhere and shoot that thing.”

Kelton has contacted the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to see if they can assist with the case with records on ballistics and trajectory that might help identify the caliber and range of the weapon used, but little information was found that helped in the investigation.

To help encourage anyone with information to come forward, the Henry County Water District’s board agreed to offer a small reward for information. “They want to solve it because they want to hold somebody accountable for the … repairs they’ve had to do,” Kelton said.

Details of the $500 reward were posted on Facebook on Feb. 14, 2024. Kelton is hopeful that someone will come forward with information linking someone to the crime. He also hopes that when the water company next drains the tower to conduct maintenance, they will be able to find the bullets that penetrated the tower and recover them to hopefully help in the investigation.

Until the bullets are recovered, Kelton said the investigation is relying solely on word-of-mouth and “so far, it’s been quiet ... It’d be nice to figure out who’s participating in such … activities.”

Kelton believes that planned maintenance will take place in April and he hopes the bullets can be recovered when the tower is drained and patched from the inside. “They’ll repair the inside skin of the water tower this time because they’ve only got the outside done right now,” Kelton noted.

Kelton said the 2023 incidents mark the first time in his 25 year career that a water tower has been shot twice in one year. He said towers have been vandalized by spray paint in the past, but this is the first time a tower has been damaged in a way that impacts its performance for customers.

In order to ensure that there won’t be any other acts of vandalism, Kelton said the water district is currently working to install security cameras at and around the site. The cameras will cover the roadway in front of the water tower and be able to monitor comings and goings in front of the tower.

Meanwhile, if anyone has any information in the case, contact Kelton at 502-225-7138 or by email at c.kelton@trimblesheriff.org or the water district at 502-532-6279. Kelton said all information provided will remain anonymous.