The recent holiday weekend saw a raft of graffiti tags throughout town, with a total of 11 incidents reported to Healdsburg Police between Friday, Sept. 1, and Monday, Sept. 3—with another just a couple of days earlier, on Aug. 30.
“The City was hit hard with graffiti over the Labor Day weekend,” said Police Chief Matt Jenkins. “Many of them seem to be in the same vicinity, occurring at almost the same time.”
The area in question was between West Grant and Chiquita Road, along or near the Foss Creek pathway. A social media post by the department said the incidents caused “thousands of dollars in damage to private and public property.”
Jenkins said all graffiti incidents are investigated by patrol staff. “In this case, Officer Bianca Reynoso took the lead on investigating the graffiti, which led to the arrest of two juveniles for felony vandalism,” he said.
The Sept. 7 Facebook post continued, “Through their investigation Healdsburg Police Officers were able to identify and arrest a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old female, both Healdsburg residents, in connection with the vandalism. The investigation into the vandalism is still ongoing and officers are working on leads to identify any other responsible individuals.”
Jenkins confirmed the graffiti was gang-related, “with both Norteño and Sureño graffiti occurring,” confirmed the chief.
Jenkins said that it is the responsibility of the property owner to remove graffiti within five days, according to the city’s Municipal Code.
“The best and easiest way to report graffiti is to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (707) 431-3377,” Chief Jenkins said.
Perhaps the juveniles who put up the graffiti could remove it. Or maybe all the buildings in Healdsburg should be painted camoflage.