Vandals strike Tiki Hut

COEUR d'ALENE - Someone broke into, and attempted to set fire to, the Tiki Hut in Coeur d'Alene on Friday night, according to a police department report.

When a Coeur d'Alene Police Department officer arrived to the food and beverage stand at Independence Point at 11:17 p.m. Friday, the fire department had just finished extinguishing a small fire. In his report, the officer wrote that he could immediately smell the strong odor of something that had been burning, and noticed a small pile of burned paper towels on the sand just outside the Tiki Hut.

The officer also noted a small window pulled halfway up near the entrance, leaving only a screen protecting the bottom portion.

"The screen had been cut open, making it easy to reach inside," the officer wrote. "Coeur d'Alene fire personnel on scene advised this is where the paper towels were burning before they pulled the burning items out."

Upon further investigation of the window, the officer noticed spots where finger marks could be seen in the dust, but they weren't defined enough to make out the fingerprints.

"I attempted to convince (the owner) to remove the small window to be put into evidence in the event the window could be fumigated for prints," the report states. "(He) felt that was too much trouble and did not want the glass removed."

Approximately a week earlier, the report states, the stand was vandalized. The owner also told the officer that both the Tiki Hut and his other stand at Memorial Field were broken into and damaged.

"(He) indicated he may know who is damaging his property, but did not want to provide a suspect name at the time of this report," the officer wrote.