At 1:00am on August 15th, four teens were found wandering in the area of Milton Avenue just south of Hadley by the Special Enforcement Team. When the four male teens were approached by Sgt. Miller of the SET team, three of the male juveniles were detained but one fled. Left behind were two spray paint cans, one marker, three males ages 13-18 and numerous incidents of vandalism to sidewalks, walkways, and the local Whittier Christian School on Newlin Avenue amounting to nearly $1000.00. Although the three juveniles detained were not directly responsible for the vandalism, the SET team happened upon the "jack pot" of vandals. One of the vandals was discovered to be one of the most destructive in the city. The SET team tracks all vandals in the city and knows many of their monikers. Unfortunately for many of the vandals, their moniker which brings them much notoriety amongst their peers also makes them known by the SET team. Officer Tim Roberts of the Special Enforcement Team happened to recognize the moniker of one of the juveniles sitting on the curb as one of our most destructive taggers. This juvenile was arrested for over 80 incidents this past year amounting to nearly $20,000 of which the City of Whittier is the primary victim. He was a 14 year old Whittier resident in the uptown area who attends a continuation school in another city and was cited into Los Padrinos Juvenile court and released to his grandparents.
The other male juvenile who fled was later found and arrested the next night after a preliminary investigation by the SET team. He was an 18 year old male with a scholarship to a local college in Long Beach. Friends and family said he thought the police wouldn’t find him or prosecute him after he ran. He said he saw the police and helicopters looking for him and bragged about it and thought it was funny. He wasn’t laughing the following night when he was caught in front of his girlfriend’s house on Canobie. He’s responsible for all of the tagging to the City of Whittier the prior night including some to the Whittier Christian School and eight other incidents the prior 30 days for over $2000.00 damage.
Over the last year the Whittier Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team has secured over $135,000 in judgments against vandals in the City. Each of these judgments represents in a conviction and usually a probation term by the juvenile court. The SET team makes it a point to follow up on these vandalism cases. Over the last year the square footage of vandalism abated by the City of Whittier has decreased in great part by the City’s abatement team, City’s rewards program, neighborhood watch programs, and the Whittier Police Department.
The other male juvenile who fled was later found and arrested the next night after a preliminary investigation by the SET team. He was an 18 year old male with a scholarship to a local college in Long Beach. Friends and family said he thought the police wouldn’t find him or prosecute him after he ran. He said he saw the police and helicopters looking for him and bragged about it and thought it was funny. He wasn’t laughing the following night when he was caught in front of his girlfriend’s house on Canobie. He’s responsible for all of the tagging to the City of Whittier the prior night including some to the Whittier Christian School and eight other incidents the prior 30 days for over $2000.00 damage.
Over the last year the Whittier Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team has secured over $135,000 in judgments against vandals in the City. Each of these judgments represents in a conviction and usually a probation term by the juvenile court. The SET team makes it a point to follow up on these vandalism cases. Over the last year the square footage of vandalism abated by the City of Whittier has decreased in great part by the City’s abatement team, City’s rewards program, neighborhood watch programs, and the Whittier Police Department.
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