A Umatilla man was arrested Thursday in connection with a graffiti case that the Hermiston Police Department has labeled “a pain for quite a long time.”
Abraham M. Arellano, 25, was arrested and charged with first-degree criminal mischief, a Class C felony.
HPD Capt. Travis Eynon said the graffiti with initials ABAR has been seen “quite a lot” around town and in surrounding communities. Last week, HPD detectives obtained a search warrant for a home in Umatilla. Working with Umatilla Police Department detectives, investigators found a “significant amount of evidence.”
Eynon said the graffiti is more than a nuisance.
“Tagging or taggers are certainly an expensive nuisance, but in this case we passed the ‘nuisance’ threshold long ago,” he said.
Eynon said the department is continuing with the investigation and is working with other agencies to clear some similar cases.
“We want to be clear,” said Eynon. “This is a criminal act of vandalism but we do not suspect, nor is there any evidence to suggest, this graffiti is in any way gang-related.”
