Deputies: Teen punctures water pumps in DeBary

DEBARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A DeBary teen has been arrested for criminal mischief, accused of stabbing the city’s drainage pipes on Deleon road. 

“It was like a river here. A small river backing up,” says Anthony Zacconi, about water that was nearly flooding his property on Tuesday. 

A report from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says the pipes were stabbed about 50 times by a sharp object, and in some places, water was seen shooting 10 feet into the air. 

“The water was shooting up in the air, over here. All over my property, water shooting up down the block. All over the place, coming down the road,” Zacconi says. 

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says a 13-year-old boy has been arrested for puncturing the city’s pipes, that are rented from Thompson Pump in Orlando. The replacement pipes cost $8400, $650 per pipe, so now the question is: who pays for it?

“Maybe the taxpayer is going to pay, as usual. We pay for everything,” Zacconi says.

DeBary City Manager Ron McLemore says it’s yet to be determined who will pick up the tab: Thompson Pump’s insurance company or the city of DeBary’s insurance. 

Zacconi hopes the 13-year-old boy gets his act together. 

“I wish the parents would straighten them out because if they get older, they’re going to get into a lot more trouble.” 

Investigators have not released the teen’s name.