Vandals trash Army reservist's home

WESLEY CHAPEL - A Pasco County Army reservist has been the victim of a terrible vandalism. Captain Arleen Agosto got word of what happened and flew home to Wesley Chapel from Fort Eustis in Virginia, where she takes care of wounded vets and soldiers.

"These guys are putting their lives on the line too so that everybody can have freedom and this is what some of the people in our community have done to me," she said.

The vandals hit every room, leaving almost nothing untouched. Pink paint is splattered throughout the kitchen, on the hardwood floors, and all over the televisions.

Cereal and mayonnaise are dumped on the living room floor. Toilet paper is looped through the ceiling fan and litters the floor. The couch is torn apart. There are burn marks on the wall and feces on Agosto's bed.

"I'm a singe mom ... and I wouldn't care if they came and took my money," she said.

The pictures ruined by paint are irreplaceable. She says the vandals dug them out of boxes in a closet.

"They're memories of friends of mine that I've served with over the years. I've been serving 25 years, so you can't replace those," she told FOX 13, tearfully.

Many of her children's baby pictures are destroyed also, along with sonogram images from her last pregnancy.

The home in the Deer Run subdivision is Agosto's first. As a single mother, she worked very hard to get it. She had it built in 2000 and since then, has put in a lot of time, care, and money to make it a home.

An alarm company installed a system Thursday. Agosto thinks the vandals came in through a window. She suspects children.

"These are kids that know my daughter. They know me and they did this," she said.

Agosto is also an advocate for domestic abuse victims. She also wonders whether that could have something to do with the vandalism.

To make matter's worse, Agosto was planning to use her home to help a friend.

"I was going to let another single mom moved into my home because her house is being foreclosed and she doesn't have a place to live."

Agosto says the vandals stole computers, video games, and her daughter's military uniform.

The Sheriff's office says it has leads in the case.