A local city councilman foiled a trio of teenagers attempting to
deface a San Juan Bautista wall with graffiti Sunday afternoon.
A local city councilman foiled a trio of teenagers attempting to deface a San Juan Bautista wall with graffiti Sunday afternoon.
George Dias, a 46-year-old San Juan Bautista councilman, called San Benito County Sheriff’s Office deputies at 1:20 p.m. Sunday after chasing three boys from Thomas Lane, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.
Deputies arrested three 16-year-old boys, two from San Juan Bautista and one from Salinas, on suspicion of vandalism and conspiracy, both felonies, and marijuana possession, a misdemeanor, the Sheriff’s Office said.
San Benito County Undersheriff Pat Turturici said he encourages community members to report crimes in progress.
“I’m glad he saw it,” Turturici said. “That’s the type of policing we want.”
Turturici added, however, that citizens shouldn’t attempt to take the law into their own hands.
Dias did not return phone calls seeking comment Monday.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who represents San Juan Bautista, said he is thankful that Dias took action to combat graffiti.
“It was really good because it’s been a big, big problem,” Botelho said.
A Sheriff’s Office report stated that Dias was driving on First Street in San Juan Bautista at about 1 p.m. Sunday when he saw three teenagers standing in front of a retaining wall on Thomas Lane.
The teens fled when Dias approached the boys from the backyard of a First Street residence, the report stated.
The city councilman jumped a fence and gave chase several blocks away to a home in the 1000 block of Third Street, according to the report.
Four deputies from the Sheriff’s Office responded to Third Street, where they arrested two of the boys, the report said. Deputies also found a backpack, in which they found five cans of spray paint and two cigars filled with marijuana, according to a report.
A deputy investigated the wall in question and found several freshly spray-painted words, according to the report.
The words were large and were similar to those found in other reports of vandalism, deputies said. Deputies believed these facts elevated the crime to a felony level, according to their report.
