Two men jailed for allegedly tagging graffiti in Pasco

Published Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

By the Herald staff

Two Pasco men were arrested early today for allegedly tagging graffiti throughout the city, police said.

Cody Charles Peterson, 20, and Jason Cruz Valenzuela, 19, were booked into the Franklin County jail on suspected second-degree malicious mischief.

About 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Pasco officer was patrolling in area of Road 32 and Court Street when he spotted the two men spray-painting an overpass traffic control sign. The officer detained the two after watching them toss the paint can in a ditch, said Pasco police Capt. Jim Raymond.

Raymond said officers saw what had been painted "Trans" was still wet with red paint. They also purportedly found more of the same graffiti on bus stop signs, light poles, pay phone booths and PUD electrical boxes, between Roads 32 and 40 along Court Street.

Raymond said similar graffiti had been previously tagged on walls and jersey barriers on the Interstate 182 corridor in West Pasco over the past couple months.

According to the department, police had received 166 reports of graffiti this year through May. Last year, the number of reports was 197.

For more crime and public safety news, read Wednesday's Herald.