Tires: Sidewall Damage - Needle-sized hole on sidewall near tread. Repairable?, 2007 toyota corolla, peculiar motion

Question
I purchased a complete set of tires about 7,000 miles ago, and just this morning I noticed that a tire was going flat. After replacing the tire with a spare, I brought the tire into a local tire shop to discover that there was a needle-sized puncture in the sidewall near the tread (maybe an inch away). The tire was leaking air when submerged in water at a consistently slow rate. Is the tire safe to drive after patching? It is a rear tire on a FWD 2007 Toyota Corolla S. (The shop claims that the tire was not covered under road hazard and further claims that it was an act of vandalism, but they could not identify what may have caused the puncture.)

Answer
Victor,

Punctures in the sidewall are prone to further damage just from the peculiar motion the sidewall undergoes as it travels through the contact patch.  Repairs in this area do not hold up.

The only location that can be repaired is the tread area, not including the outermost rib.

It's a shame that the shop would not cover the tire under a "road hazard" policy.