By Khalida Sarwari
Benicia police Wednesday morning arrested and charged four Vacaville residents with felony vandalism.
Officers were alerted to the vandalism in the 300 block of Warwick Drive at about 2:30 a.m.
Police said a resident reported three male suspects walking around a white 2005 Toyota Corolla parked in the 2000 block of Havenhill Drive.
Arriving officers located the Toyota and determined it did not belong to any of the suspects. They watched the Toyota for another 40 minutes, at which point four subjects returned to the car and drove off, according to police.
Officers initiated a stop on the Toyota nearby and found two men and two teenagers, along with 24 aerosol spray paint cans. Two of the subjects had spray paint on their hands, police said. Officers surveyed the area and found graffiti spray-painted on a 60-inch retaining wall in the 300
block of Warwick Drive.
Police said all four suspects admitted to their involvement in the vandalism.
The suspects were identified as Troy Oreta, 20 and Joseph Caudle, 18. Both were booked into Solano County Jail for felony vandalism. Oreta was also booked for an outstanding $500 misdemeanor warrant from Solano County.
The two 17-year-olds were booked into the Solano County Juvenile Hall for felony vandalism and illegal possession of aerosol containers. One of the teenagers was also booked for violation of their Solano County juvenile probation.
Police estimated the damage caused by the vandalism to be over $400.
“This is the first case in awhile in which we had someone from a neighboring town come here to tag,” Benicia police Lt. Mike Daley said in a statement. “Hopefully this arrest and the prosecution of these four will deter similar events in our city.”
Anyone with information about graffiti crimes or tagging in Benicia is asked to contact School Resource Officer Sergio Cruz at (707) 746-4253 or Crime Stoppers at (707) 644-STOP.