Vandals target new Santa Fe courthouse

SANTA FE (KRQE) - Some have called it a money pit after millions of dollars poured into the brand new Santa Fe courthouse that has run into one pitfall after another.

The courthouse is now facing another problem.

A locked gate and a sign reading “do not enter,” could not stop vandals who wanted a personal tour of Santa Fe's new courthouse before construction wrapped up.

“It was graffiti all over the third floor of the building,” Sergeant Andrea Dobyns said.

Sergeant Dobyns says the vandals climbed their way to the third floor armed with an arsenal of aerosol cans of paint spray paint possibly taken from the worksite.

Their tagging stretched from one hallway to another and into offices.

“The worker estimated about $3,000 because he said they would have repaint and re-stucco the damaged areas,” Dobyns said.

A building construction worker was the first to spot the illegal artwork and called police Friday.

So police believe whoever did it snuck in sometime between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

The vandalism is adding to the hefty price-tag of the new Santa Fe district courthouse.

Larry Barker revealed problems in 2009 when the site of the courthouse was contaminated by gasoline.

That caused a two-year delay in construction and pushed the project over budget.

Then, just this year, court administration asked the state for $1.4 million in capital outlay funds for furniture and other equipment.

The governor vetoed it.

As the project gets closer to completion vandals leaving their mark was the last thing construction workers needed.

“There were several spray paint cans around…we're not sure where they got those from,” Dobyns said.

As the fight for furniture funding continues, there are already plans to keep the new courthouse vacant for at least four to six months.

That means the old courthouse will still be used for some time.

No word on how much maintaining an empty building will cost.