Alleged Christmas vandals chased down by homeowner

A West Islip father says two Christmas vandals targeted the wrong house Tuesday night, which is why he followed and cornered them. Joe Farrell says it all started when his neighbor saw Kevin Berding,

News 12 Staff

Dec 20, 2007, 1:50 AM

Updated 6,216 days ago

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A West Islip father says two Christmas vandals targeted the wrong house Tuesday night, which is why he followed and cornered them.
Joe Farrell says it all started when his neighbor saw Kevin Berding, 20, and Christopher Morrison, 16, wreck the family?s decorations and drive away around 11:30. He says they slashed the family?s blowup Santa and snow globe with a screwdriver.
Farrell says he raced outside and found the cell phone of one of the vandals, so he knew they?d be back. The two returned 45 minutes later. Farrell says he called police, got into his car and followed them for about a mile. He says he eventually cornered them at a dead end. They were later taken into custody.
"Santa's not gonna bring any presents to those bad boys,? says Farrell?s 4-year-old son, Kieran.
Berding and Morrison are both charged with criminal mischief.