Police asking public’s help identifying prolific Santa Rosa graffiti vandal

A prolific graffiti tagger painting the word “Save” on businesses and other properties in Santa Rosa has led police to offer a reward for information leading to an arrest.

Police have tracked about 75 tags in the city over the past six months that have caused more than $4,000 in estimated damage, Sgt. Josh Ludtke said.

Graffiti is costly for property owners and the city, particularly on historic buildings such as the brick facades vandalized with the tag in the Railroad Square neighborhood, Ludtke said. Those old buildings are difficult and expensive to repair, he said.

A Santa Rosa city ordinance requires property owners to remove or cover graffiti within 72 hours.

“It is a financial burden for them,” Ludtke said.

Each year, for example, Santa Rosa City Schools spends about $30,000 to repair graffiti-related vandalism, the sergeant said.

Police are offering a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the “Save” graffiti vandalism with funds provided by the Sonoma County Alliance’s Take Back Our Community Program.

Anyone with information about the case can call the Santa Rosa Police Department’s graffiti hotline at ?543-3499 or email nograffiti@srcity.org.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @jjpressdem.