A Ballston, NY man was arrested on Sunday night for allegedly vandalizing numerous cars in the area surrounding Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) during the second of two Dead & Company concerts at the Saratoga Springs, NY amphitheater. The suspect, 24-year-old Scott M. Bullard, was issued an appearance ticket for July 5th and released from police custody.
Per a report issued by Major Dennis J. Schager, the New York State Police Troop G commander, “On June 18, 2023, the State Police of Saratoga, with the assistance of the New York State Police Park Police, arrested Scott M. Bullard, 24, of Ballston, NY, for 18 counts of Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree.”
“On June 18, 2023, at about 10:00 p.m.,” the police report continued, “Troopers responded to the Saratoga Spa State Park for the reports of an individual damaging parked vehicles in the area of North South Road. Troopers and Park Police took Bullard into custody at the scene. The investigation determined Bullard damaged 18 parked vehicles by standing and jumping on them. No one was injured during the incident.”
Per a report from local NBC affiliate News Channel 13, “Witnesses said it didn’t look as if [the] man was using anything but his body to smash windows.”
While the official report notes that the suspect allegedly damaged 18 cars, accounts from attendees of the Sunday night Dead & Company concert at SPAC indicate that the number of vandalized vehicles may have been much higher. As Reddit user Emergency_Nerve–3974 noted in a thread about the vandalized cars, “Driving out I saw probably 40-50 peoples cars windshields and side mirrors smashed. Along with heavily scratched cars. State police [were] investigating.” Other commenters on the thread reported seeing similar numbers of cars with broken windshields in addition to many more that appeared to have prominent scratches.
Dead & Company, the Grateful Dead offshoot featuring Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane, are in the midst of their final tour, a nationwide run due to make stops at major stadiums and amphitheaters through the middle of July. While the band’s performances have been well received throughout the tour, which began in May, various logistical issues and surrounding incidents have stolen headlines in recent weeks, even as they underscore the widespread excitement about what may be the last series of stadium-sized Dead shows the world will ever see.
Attendees at recent stops in Charlotte, NC (5/30), Burgettstown, PA (6/5), and more took to social media to detail their struggles getting into the respective venues, with stand-still traffic causing many to wait hours in line to get into the parking lots and ultimately miss the majority of the performance. Both Saturday and Sunday‘s Dead & Company performances at SPAC raised related objections from fans. Photos posted to Reddit show large crowds still awaiting entry 40 minutes after the start of the show. Inside the venue, overcrowding was the issue of the weekend as many attendees reported experiencing an unusual degree of difficulty finding space on the venue’s lawn, which is notorious for its lack of clear sight lines. Another Reddit post shows thousands of fans facing away from the stage to watch the show on one of the venue’s LED screens.
Dead & Company tour continues this week with a pair of shows at New York’s Citi Field. We don’t know who needs to hear this, but please don’t body-slam the cars in the parking lot when you get there.
For a complete list of Dead & Company’s upcoming The Final Tour dates, head here.
Man Charged w/ Damaging 18 Cars at SPAC – News Channel 13
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