A Camp Verde man was arrested on multiple felony charges af ter causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to Hauser & Hauser Farms property. On Monday, Sept. 27 just after 11:30 a.m., Camp Verde Marshal’s Office deputies responded to reports of an “unknown situation” taking place at Hauser & Hauser Farms located at the 1600 block of Shills Crossing in Camp Verde.
The reporting party told police that they had seen a man drive a tractor through cornfields and a nearby fence.
“Neighbors wit-nessed him driving through a gate and through a neighborhood,” said Claudia Hauser, owner of Hauser & Hauser Farms.
When deputies arrived, they di scovered a man matching the neighbors’ description standing on the front porch of a house on the property, according to the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office.
The man identified himself as Derek Charles Dompkowski, 27, who police knew from a number of other unrelated criminal incidents. Investigators contacted the owner of the home, who said they did not know Dompkowski and had not given him permission to be there.
Butler said deputies reported that Dompkowski appeared to be under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident.
As the investigation progressed, it was discovered that the suspect had entered the house and taken several items from it and a nearby outbuilding, Lt. Stephen Butler said.
“[He took] pig fencing from an outbuilding, home furnishings, other unidentified miscellaneous items,” he said.
Dompkowski had also allegedly removed a mattress from the residence and burned it on the front porch, leaving burn marks behind.
Police also discovered that Dompkowski had reportedly climbed into and damaged two tractors on the property, driving one of them through a fence and through the surrounding cornfields, which caused an unknown amount of damage to the crops.
“[We’re] still figuring the crop damage,” Hauser said. “Field corn here is not eligible for crop insurance.”
While the total cost of the damages that were caused is still to be determined, it is estimated to be between $500,000 to $1 million. Police are continuing to work with the victims to determine the exact value of the damaged property. Representatives from John Deere are reportedly coming to evaluate the tractors and their computer systems to give a better estimate of the damage caused, Butler said.
Dompkowski was arrested and charged with several felony offenses including criminal damage, burglary, theft and reckless burning.
Hauser said this incident marks the third time in five years that they’ve had to deal with different individuals trespassing onto their property and stealing from them or causing property damage, which in turn causes their business more long-term damage than just fixing what was broken.
“It’s frustrating. I keep hearing about him paying ‘restitution.’ Restitution is a joke. I get random checks from prior incidents in small amounts. Between $5 to $15 typically,” she said. “I’m so tired of people saying, ‘your insurance will take care of it.’ Yes, I’m insured, but why the hell should my insurance have to pay for this worthless idiot’s decisions.
“My premiums will go up, I then increase the price of my products and everyone pays, but these weak, worthless individuals that may go to prison and get housed and fed on taxpayer’s dime.”
