Cosme Jr.

City police are on the lookout for the man they believe slashed the tires of more than a dozen vehicles in one night, including four tires on police vehicles.

Investigators Monday filed a felony charge of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief and an arrest warrant against 34-year-old Oscar Cosme Jr. of Butler.

Court records say an anonymous caller identified Cosme from a surveillance video taken inside A-Plus gas station on West Jefferson Street the night of the slashings in November.

The city police department had posted the photograph on its Facebook page, believing the individual was connected to the damage because his body frame and clothing matched a surveillance video at the police station showing the individual slashing the tires of police cars.

According to court records, a police officer also was inside the gas station at the time the photograph was captured. That officer recalled the man giving him “an angry look” because he asked him to leave since he was intoxicated, and the man tried to make a purchase but had no money.

When police interviewed Cosme sometime later, he said he had been to a bar and then the gas station, according to court records. He claimed he then walked home.

But investigators say the route he described from the gas station to his residence at 120 N. Sixth Ave. matched the trail of damaged tires. The total of the damage is estimated at $2,801.

Anyone with information about Cosme’s whereabouts is asked to call city police at 724-287-7743.