HERMISTON — Hermiston police announced the arrest of the man it suspects of numerous acts of graffiti using the tag “ABAR.”
“Many of you have most likely seen graffiti in town with the initials ABAR,” police Capt. Travis Eynon posted on the department’s Facebook page. “There has been quite a lot of it. There has also been quite a bit in surrounding communities.”
Eynon reported Hermiston police detectives on Thursday, June 9, arrested Abraham M. Arellano, 25, of Umatilla, for the tagging. While this was a “criminal act of vandalism,” Eynon reported, this graffiti is not gang related.
The arrest came after an ongoing investigation, Eynon stated The detectives obtained a search warrant for a home in Umatilla and partnered with the Umatilla Police Department to serve the warrant.
“As a result of the search warrant there was a significant amount of evidence seized,” according to the police captain.
Applying graffiti usually is a misdemeanor crime. Eynon explained this case is different. The aggregate value of damage to the city of Hermiston alone amounts to several thousand dollars, so in this case the crime is first-degree criminal mischief, a Class C felony.
“Tagging or taggers are certainly an expensive nuisance, but in this case we passed the ‘nuisance’ threshold long ago,” Eynon stated.
Hermiston police is continuing this investigation and will be working with other local agencies to clear some of the same cases they have.
Original Article: Source