A Virginia City man, plagued by repeated eggings of his vehicle, set up a surveillance camera - and what he recorded, along with a sharp-eyed deputy and a half dozen eggs, netted a suspect.
Sgt. Ken Quirk with the Storey County Sheriff's Office said victim Jeff Hoppe, 52, reported to police that his vehicle had been egged on Sept. 12, 20 and 28.
Quirk said the vandalism stopped for about a month, but then resumed on Nov. 3, 16 and 21.
Fed up, Hoppe installed a surveillance camera on Nov. 23, just in time to catch an early morning egging on Nov. 24.
At about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Storey County Deputy M.J. Duncan was driving past Hoppe's home, when he saw a vehicle that matched the one caught on tape. He decided to stop it and approached the sole occupant, Allan Clark, 48, of Dayton.
In the car with Hoppe - six raw eggs.
"Deputy Duncan questioned him at length, and Clark confessed pretty quickly," said Quirk. "He was planning on doing it again when we stopped him and basically caught him in the act.
The vandalism usually happened between 5:25 and 5:55 in the morning. Mr. Clark worked in Reno and on his way to work he would go soil Mr. Hoppe's car, and then continue on to work."
Quirk said Clark allegedly admitted that the embryonic assault was part of a grudge he'd held against Hoppe for the last 10 years.
Quirk said Hoppe had no recollection of Clark or the dispute.
Clark was released at the scene and is now facing charges relating to seven counts of injury to property from the Storey County District Attorney Office, said Quirk.
Neither Hoppe nor Clark could be reached for comment.
• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.