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Cut brake lines unnerve car dealer Police have no leads in Medford-area vandalism By JIM DAVIS Police are investigating an unusual case in which vandals cut the brake lines on nine cars, vans and trucks at a Medford-area used-car dealership. Brad Murphy, who owns Brad's Cars & Used Trucks on Crater Lake Avenue, said the cars on his lot were vandalized on two nights during the past week. "I'm just a small dealer, and I'm just struggling just like everybody else," Murphy said. "This is costing me quite a few dollars." Murphy said he plans to establish a reward for information in the case. Jackson County Sheriff's Sgt. Dick Allen said deputies often encounter vandalism where an antenna is broken or a window is smashed. But nothing like this. "You see these things on televisions where these things happen," Allen said. "We haven't had something like this here." The first vandalism was discovered on Saturday morning. Murphy said the vandals hit his own pickup. "I jumped in my truck to go move some trailers and out the driveway I went without the brakes," Murphy said. He pulled his emergency brake to stop. Then he took the truck to Les Schwab, where a worker noticed that someone had tampered with the brake line. Murphy and his workers went through the 80 or so vehicles on the property on Saturday and found one other van had been vandalized. On Monday, Murphy went to show a customer a car and found the car had no brakes. He checked the cars on the lot again and found seven more with brake lines cut. The vandalism is putting him and his customers at risk. Plus, Murphy said, the cost of fixing the vehicles is running at $175 per vehicle -- or about $1,575. Allen said police don't have any leads in the case. "I don't know if someone has a dispute against that car lot or what," Allen said. Murphy said dealerships like to encourage potential customers to walk onto lots and look at cars. Unfortunately, he said that can't happen anymore, because he is using a new "24-hour security system." "It's called a 248-pound bull mastiff," Murphy said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA