Local News in Brief : Man Sentenced in Graffiti Case
An 18-year-old Wilmington resident was sentenced to 130 days in jail and ordered to spend 100 hours cleaning up graffiti for spray-painting the wall of a house, officials said.
Miguel Angel Gonzales was sentenced Thursday by San Pedro Municipal Court Judge Roy S. Rekich after Gonzales pleaded no contest to one count of vandalism, according officials at the city attorney’s office.
Gonzales, who police suspect is a Wilmington gang member, was also placed on two-year summary probation and ordered to reimburse the owner of the house for the cost of removing the graffiti, officials said.
Police arrested Gonzales on the night of Feb. 18 when they saw him spray-painting the initials of a gang in three-foot-high letters on the wall of the house.
Such convictions are rare because few people are caught in the act of vandalizing a building, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office.
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