Two men are facing vandalism charges after police caught them allegedly spray painting graffiti in Santa Barbara neighborhoods, the Santa Barbara Police Department reported Thursday.
Jesus Soto, 19, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor vandalism and violating probation after officers stopped him in the 700 block of North Quarantina Street on Tuesday afternoon. Officer Steve Robles had observed Soto running on the sidewalk at about 1:30 p.m. and throwing an object over a residential fence, police Sgt. Riley Harwood said.
Officers retrieved the item — a can of gold spray paint that matched paint on Soto’s fingertips, Harwood said. They also found freshly painted gold graffiti at several locations in the area.
On Wednesday at about 7:30 p.m., officers were called to the 900 block of Castillo Street on a report of vandalism. A witness had observed Jonathan Sebastian Andrade, 18, spray painting graffiti on a wall and on the sidewalk, Harwood said. The witness followed Andrade and a companion, and detained them until officers arrived, Harwood said.
Officers recovered a can of green spray paint, and saw that Andrade had matching paint on his fingertips, Harwood said.
The witness made a citizen’s arrest of Andrade, who was issued a citation for misdemeanor vandalism, Harwood said. The companion was not cited.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.