A 22-year-old man suspected of serial graffiti and vandalism in the downtown Santa Rosa area was arrested this week. Police say he is believed to have caused more than $5,000 in damage over the past year.
Ronald Damian Malgren was already on probation for a string of graffiti offenses in 2010 in which he primarily used spray paint, police said.
If police are correct, this time around his graffiti included glass etching, an expensive assault to store-front windows that usually requires the glass planes to be replaced, Detective Sgt. Mike Lazzarini said.
Several downtown businesses reported damaged windows on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day, including the Unitarian Universalist church, Selix Formalwear and the Not Of This World Bookstore, all located on Mendocino Avenue near 10th Street, Lazzarini said.
In each case, the vandal left behind a moniker cut into the glass, the same moniker that had been spray-painted on dozens of commercial businesses over the past year or so, Lazzarini said.
But Valentine's Day, the vandal was caught on surveillance tape, allowing a detective to recognize Malgren, police said.
A search of his Marsh Road home Wednesday turned up evidence linking him to the crimes. Informed that Malgren was at the Department of Motor Vehicles, police tracked him down and arrested him there as he stood in line, Lazzarini said.
Malgren was booked into the Sonoma County Jail for suspicion of felony vandalism and violation of probation, authorities said. He was being held without bail.
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