ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. (WFLA) — Police in Zephyrhills reported that several wastewater lift stations were vandalized, with communication cables being cut, endangering wastewater operations. Although no lift stations stopped functioning during these incidents, they did experience communication loss.
Early on Friday, authorities were searching for a man observed on surveillance footage near one of the lift stations, identifiable by wearing no shirt, a red cape, white shorts, black shoes, and riding a red bicycle.
“You wouldn’t think that someone would mess with a lift station,” said Melissa Ivy, who lives near one of the lift stations.
She said she never really thinks about the lift stations and has never seen the man police were looking for.
“That description, I mean, you would definitely notice that and remember that if you saw someone with a red cape,” Ivy said.
On Friday, Zephyrhills police arrested 35-year-old Justin Love, charging him with trespassing and damaging critical infrastructure. Officers mentioned that he was near one of the seven affected lift stations, sometime between May 21 and May 22.
The following were the affected locations:
- 5/21/25: 39419 Kennedy Ave
- 5/21/25: 6481 20th St
- 5/22/25: North Ave and 18th St
- 5/22/25: County Road 54 and Wire Rd
- 5/22/25: 23rd St/10th Ave
- 5/22/25: South Ave and 6th Ave
- 5/22/25: 37845 Palmetto Palm Dr
City officials said the damage was discovered after automated alerts showed the lift stations were no longer communication with monitoring systems. They said tampering with these lines interferes with the city’s ability to control the lift stations.
“The whole the system is very technical, I’m sure. It costs lots of money, so very strange that they would target something like that,” Ivy said.
But police also said preliminary interviews suggest the damage to the lift stations doesn’t appear to be a targeted attack on city infrastructure, but rather random acts with no apparent motive.
“It’s weird, it’s definitely odd,” Ivy said.
Police said more people and incidents could be connected to this case, so it remains an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Zephyrhills police at 813-780-0050.
