Sebastopol police arrest teen in connection with series of vandalism incidents

A 16-year-old boy was arrested Friday on suspicion of vandalizing dozens of public surfaces in Sebastopol since November, police said.

The teen, whose identity wasn’t released because he’s a minor, was booked into the Sonoma County Juvenile Detention facility on the felony charge of vandalism, Sebastopol police said in a news release.

The incidents began Nov. 11, when officers found the letters “PEAK” and “KKS” tagged in a public bathroom. Over the next few months, additional witnesses observed nearly 200 identical tags on public surfaces throughout Sebastopol, police said. The vandalism method ranged from permanent marker to spray paint to unknown instruments, but police suspected they were committed by the same suspect. The value of the property damaged was estimated to be thousands of dollars.

Police installed hidden video cameras in public places and eventually captured the suspect on video. Investigators used social media and help from local school officials to identify the suspect. Then, on Friday, officers went to the boy’s school and arrested him.

When interviewed by police, the teen admitted to committing the vandalism tags and attempted to explain some of their meanings, the news release said.

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ChantelleHLee.