Monday, Jan. 12, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.
Business and home owners said they were relieved this weekend to hear that police had arrested a man who allegedly had vandalized entire neighborhoods in the past several months.
The man, 26-year-old Christian Ortega, who recently moved to the Las Vegas Valley from Los Angeles, had been scrawling graffiti throughout the areas surrounding Pecos Road at McLeod Drive and along stretches of Desert Inn Road, police allege.
Ortega was arrested Thursday and booked into the Clark County Detention Center, Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said.
Ortega lived in the neighborhood and frequented some of the businesses that were marred, Pappa said.
"When they arrested the guy and showed his picture to the folks (who had been) victimized, many knew him," Pappa said.
Authorities allege Ortega vandalized 15 to 20 businesses, several residences, utility poles and street lights in the area with both spray paint and acid. The acid was used to etch the initials "D.K." and the word "provoke" on windows, authorities said.
Authorities found that same calling card all over the concrete and surrounding walls at Winchester Park, a skate park at 3130 S. McLeod, Pappa said.
Police believe the initials stood for Def Kings and Dope Kids, Pappa said. Police were not available this morning to explain whether those were names of gangs.
Teenagers involved with Winchester's Evolve skate team cleaned up the damage themselves after the park was hit in November, said Russell Davis, who works with the team through his job at Clark County Administrative Services.
"These kids take ownership of the park and clean it up," Davis said.
"We know that the recommendations from Metro is to paint it over as soon as possible to control the spread of it."
Davis said he and other residents were thankful an arrest had been made in connection with the vandalism.
"For the past couple of months (the tagging) has been an absolute destruction of property in the neighborhood," Davis said. "I was out on New Year's Day painting over his tagging (on an outside wall to the cul-de-sac where Davis lives), and it turned out it ran right down to where (Ortega's) house was."
The acid window etchings cause the most damage for store owners, as the scrawls could not be washed off or painted over. Victims will have to replace each window Ortega allegedly vandalized.
Shirley Masters, owner of Curve, a fitness center located at 2482 E. Desert Inn Road, said she first noticed the graffiti at other shops in the Francisco Shopping Centre.
"The day it happened I just thought, oh my gosh, look at Ross' (Dress for Less) windows," she said. "Then I noticed it all the way up through the whole shopping center -- the initials 'D.K.' and some squiggles after it on our windows."
The upper window of Curve was the only section of her business that got tagged, Masters said, so she considered herself lucky compared with neighboring businesses.
"We had a lot less than a lot of people," she said. "Those initials are etched with an acid though, and the window will now have to be replaced."
Masters still does not know how much replacing the window will set her back.
"We just opened up in May, so as a new business owner, it's disappointing," she said. "I didn't have replacing the window because of graffiti planned or budgeted. I don't know if we have to pay for it or what happens next."
Masters said she thinks authorities should make an example of Ortega.
"I think because he's not a teenager and is an adult that should know better, they ought to make an example out of him," she said. "It's true vandalism when you just go through and hit so much of one area, and he should be punished."
Davis was also surprised at the alleged tagger's age.
"The weird thing is they always think it is kids who do this but this guy has destroyed his whole neighborhood, and he was 26 years old," Davis said. "That he was 26 years old just boggles my mind."
Ortega was booked on two felony counts of malicious destruction of property and four counts of gross misdemeanor malicious destruction of property, Pappa said. All charges are related to businesses damaged with acid and paint near Pecos-McLeod Drive and Desert Inn Road. More charges are pending, Pappa added.
Ortega was arrested by two patrol officers at Maryland Parkway and Vegas Valley Drive about two weeks ago, Pappa said. Police said he had been tagging in that area. Information about that incident was then provided to Metro's Gang Crimes section.
After investigating, the officers realized that Ortega could have been responsible for a number of local vandalism cases, Pappa said. A search warrant was served Thursday at Ortega's home in the 2900 block of Palma Vista Avenue, and police found evidence linked to the crimes, Pappa said.
Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams, applauded the arrest because, she said, authorities believe Ortega "has caused many thousands of dollars in damage to businesses, homes and public facilities" in her district.
"For the past several months our community has been plagued by this individual's disregard for property," she said.
Clark County operates a Southern Nevada Graffiti hotline, in coordination with the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, to document and remove graffiti from public walls and infrastructure, Pappa said.
The coalition of different government and law enforcement entities, paired with the Clark County School District, also promotes education for youths on the negative impact graffiti has on the community.
The Metro detectives who handle graffiti investigations were not available Monday for comment, but Lt. Cindy Galindo of the Gang Crimes Section said they spend most of their time trying to arrest taggers after the act.
"We don't have time to do more than supression, Galindo said.
Davis said he was visiting all the businesses and residents he knows have been vandalized to encourage them to report the damage if they haven't already done so.
Victims can call Detective Dan Neuman of the Gang Crimes section at 229-3309.
archive
