Two suspected graffiti vandals whom police said may be
responsible for a string of recent tagging in Hollister were
arrested Friday.
Two suspected graffiti vandals whom police said may be responsible for a string of recent tagging in Hollister were arrested Friday.
Hollister Police officers approached the boys, both 17, at the corner of Hawkins and East streets early Friday morning, Police Chief ?ill Pierpoint said.
“They were standing there with a back pack when the two officers stopped to make contact with them,” he said. “The back pack had graffiti markings on it.”
The officers also observed blue and black paint on the boys’ hands and smelled alcohol on their breath. The youths’ eyes were red and watery, according to a police report.
Police questioned the suspects before one confessed to several acts of graffiti vandalism earlier Friday, Pierpoint said. The youth showed officers several places where the two allegedly sprayed graffiti, according to the report.
The suspects were arrested for possession of aerosol cans, vandalism, conspiracy and public intoxication.
Police said the youths’ alleged vandalism matches other graffiti in Hollister that is under investigation.
“There’s like four or five different groups of letters they were using for tagging,” said Pierpoint, who assigned Det. Alice Hinton to further investigate the string of tagging.
Police do not suspect that the suspects have a gang affiliation, Pierpoint said.
“They just want to put their names out, so they’re vandalizing,” he said.
Pierpoint emphasized that Hollister’s graffiti problem goes far beyond the two suspects.
“There’s a whole bunch of guys still doing it,” he said.
Patrol has been increased in areas with higher incidences of tagging, Pierpoint said. The HPD has also assigned a bicycle officer to those areas when possible, he said.
Police arrested another graffiti vandal last month. The boy, also a minor, was caught in the act, police said.
