Tagger Jailed for Etching Patrol Car
A reputed gang member was sentenced to 45 days in jail Friday for etching graffiti onto the hood of an Orange County Sheriff’s patrol car while deputies were inside a community center making an anti-gang presentation.
The car’s video camera recorded the Sept. 23 incident and led to the arrest of 23-year-old Luis Armando Andrade.
Andrade carved the initials of La Colonia gang onto the car then fled from the Anaheim Independencia Community Center, 10841 Garza Avenue.
Members of the sheriff’s gang enforcement team were meeting with residents of the unincorporated community, which has had a long history of gang problems, including drive-by shootings and rampant graffiti.
“The vandalism wasn’t discovered until the car was back at headquarters,” said Sgt. David Remender.
An arrest warrant was issued for Andrade, who was arrested on Wednesday at his home, a short distance away from the center.
Andrade pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor vandalism charge at Municipal Court in Fullerton. In addition to jail time, he was placed on three years’ informal probation, had his driver’s license suspended for one year and was ordered to perform 100 hours of graffiti removal.
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