Watsonville residents help capture graffiti vandals

Residents and police in Watsonville joined forces to crack down on graffiti in the city. To some, the graffiti may just look like a little paint, but for many retailers in the area, it’s bad for business.

Hugo’s Pizzeria is a popular spot for locals, but employees say that with it’s locationin the center of town comes a problem with graffiti.

“Pretty much scares a lot of customers and a lot of money to come into Watsonville,” said one employee.

Working to bust tagging crews, within the last five days Watsonville police have arrested four graffiti vandals in the city. Sgt. Tony Figueroa credits the community for stepping in, especially during a recent arrest Tuesday off Madison Street at the First Baptist Church.

“On one of the arrests, the citizens actually held and detained the suspect that was spray painting on one of the churches until police got there,” said Figueroa.

The suspect, 28-year-old Juan Manual Romero, was later taken into custody by police. He’s now facing chargesof felony vandalism to a place of worship.

Just around the block, Figueroa took News Channel 5 to a vacantbuildingthatused to be a bank but now it’s a popular spot for tagging crews.

“The businesses are faced with having to cover up graffiti. It’s costly to them, it’s time consuming and unfortunately it doesn’t give them a good appearance,” said Figueroa.