Five Arrested for Graffiti in Highlands

Five local youths and young men have been arrested for trespassing and vandalism after being caught spray painting a concrete storm run-off basin adjacent to the Santa Ynez Park entrance off Palisades Drive in the Highlands. LAPD Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale was tipped off to the graffiti problem recently by local residents, park rangers and Bel-Air Patrol Highlands senior lead officer Aaron Sias. Two juvenile suspects were arrested on January 24 and two adult suspects and one juvenile suspect were arrested on February 1. The arrested suspects are all male, and range in age from 16 to 21’two live in Pacific Palisade, two are from Brentwood and one from Santa Monica. The suspects will all appear in court and face penalties such as fines, probation and community service. In certain cases, adults could get jail time. The ‘taggers’ had clearly been painting in the storm-drain channel for quite a while, as the walls and floor are nearly covered with graffiti. Ragsdale is working on having ‘No Trespassing’ signs put up in the area, which is closed to the public. He warmed that is particularly dangerous for people because it could easily become flooded in heavy rains, owing to runoff from the mountains. Also, if there are problems in the nearby reservoir, water could be released and cause a flash flood. In addition, all debris left in the area goes straight to the ocean via the channel. A group of taggers recently noticed several Bel-Air patrolmen in the area and ran off; park rangers later found two boxes containing about 40 cans of spray paint, respirators, a camera and a five-foot ladder. Graffiti vandalism has also spread through the Palisades Drive area, hitting lightpoles, mailboxes, trees and nearby streets. One license plate of a car that dropped taggers off in the area was traced back to the Highlands. The art itself is elaborate and includes a small dragon and various stylized nicknames. On one wall is scrawled ‘Cops got me on the run.’ The area is officially part of L.A. City parkland. Sias said that the tagging generally occurs sporadically from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., occasionally up to three times a day. ‘We want to stop the problem,’ said Ragsdale, who added that the LAPD is scheduling surveillance of the area using a volunteer surveillance team and community groups.