Manatee deputies investigating vandalism to candidate's car

BRADENTON, Fla. - By the cover of night, a vandal snuck into a Manatee County neighborhood and found Kristy Zinna's car.

It was her daughter who first noticed the gas cap had been pried open. 

“There were puddles of green liquid and some brown liquid as well,” Zinna recalled. “I tried to fix it; it would not close or lock. I noticed the locking mechanism had been sawed off.” 

On and around her car, the liquid had done its damage. Zinna's mechanic says it was a mix of paint stripper and brake fluid. 

Manatee County deputies are investigating, but believe she was singled out for a reason.. 

“Somebody was trying to be destructive there and either scare her or make some kind of a point. We don’t think this is random. We don’t have any other reports of it happening to other vehicles and so that leads to the question to why was this done,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Randy Warren offered.

“I think they were trying to intimidate me,” agreed Zinna.

She believes it's because of her campaign for county judge.

“I 100% believe it’s campaign-related," she said. "I don’t believe in coincidence and the timing is too convenient.”

Manatee deputies are investigating and they do have surveillance footage from a neighbor’s house.

“We can see this vehicle drive back and forth and actually stop in front of the house, but we don’t have any visual evidence of somebody walking up to the residence,” Warren continued.

Zinna is now installing cameras of her own, but says she's not backing down. 

“I’m angry,” she added. “I’m determined that whatever they were trying to do, intimidation or scare me will not succeed.” 

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at: (941) 747-3011