WOOD RIVER — The Fruit Stand in Wood River is seeking a payment arrangement after four youths allegedly damaged pumpkins and plants on its lot late at night, leaving hundreds of dollars in damage and a mess for employees opening the family business.
The Fruit Stand revealed on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, the business at 365 E. Edwardsville Road said the damage occurred about 11:30 p.m. while it was closed. The owners asked the youths or their parents to contact them, saying the business should not have to cover the cost.
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In a follow-up message, the owners said all four youths had been identified and three of their parents had been contacted. An anonymous message to the business’s Facebook page provided a general direction, and the Wood River Police Department contacted the owners to help without requiring them to press formal charges, the owners said.
According to the owners, the youths broke pumpkins from a couple of carts and threw them at plants, damaging those as well.
“While I can fully appreciate ‘kids being kids,’ that does not translate over to going on the lot of a closed business at 11:30 at night to damage a bunch of property,” the business management said.
Wood River Police Chief Brad Wells said his department contacted the owners of a local fruit stand after becoming aware of a matter involving the business, seeking to protect the business and reach a resolution that met the owners’ wishes.
Chief Wells said the outreach was part of doing due diligence to protect businesses in Wood River. He said a solution was reached that aligned with what the fruit stand’s owners wanted.
The Fruit Stand said surveillance cameras recorded video and audio of the group, described as two youths walking, one riding a scooter and one riding a skateboard. Names could be heard being called out, the business said. It did not share the recording because of the language used.
The owners said they would not disclose the names of any minors, publicly or privately.
“From everything I've heard so far, these are kids who have not previously been in trouble,” the follow-up message said. “They made a dumb mistake, but they're not career criminals. The best we can hope for is that this serves a wake-up call and prevents any further mischief.”
The owners said they would work toward an amicable solution with the parents and thanked customers and community members for sharing the post and offering support.
“At the end of the day, we are all part of this community, and we would much rather make allies than enemies out of my neighbors,” the Fruit Stand message said.
Chief Wells also said the prevalence of cameras makes it difficult to get away with misconduct.
Discussing the criminal justice system, Wells said people sometimes make mistakes or errors in judgment. He said the goal is to find solutions and resolutions that prevent the same conduct from happening again.
