Former firefighter draws graffiti charges
By Gerald Carroll
Staff writer

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A former CAL FIRE firefighter working out of the Pixley station has been hit with a pair of felony vandalism charges because he tried to paint over blue Sureño gang graffiti with red Norteño gang signs, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said today.

The red spray-painted graffiti was applied by Raul Cardona Valdez, 32, in December of 2006, while in full uniform and while he was driving an official CAL FIRE truck, said Tulare County Assistant District Attorney Don Gallian.

“He was covering up graffiti from a rival gang and replacing it with something else,” Gallian said. “He has tattoos on his wrists, the type normally associated with the Norteño gang.”

On March 14, Gallian said, the vandalism charges were filed by the Tulare County District Attorney.

Read the full story in Tuesday’s Times-Delta.

The reporter can be reached at gcarroll@vsialia.gannett.com.