An Arlington teenager was cited on charges of vandalism Thursday in connection with several incidents of graffiti in Hermiston, Boardman and Arlington.
Several similar markings around the 200 block of W. Hermiston Avenue prompted Hermiston police officers to canvass the neighborhood and interview individuals at 220 N.W. Third Street. According to Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston, officers identified a 17-year-old male as the person responsible for three acts of graffiti vandalism in Hermiston, well over a dozen incidents in Boardman and additional incidents in Arlington.
Hermiston Detective Randy Studebaker, formerly of the Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office, worked with agencies in Morrow and Gilliam counties on the case.
“Studebaker interviewed the rather uncooperative mother of the teen in Arlington and issued Rhonda Sommerville, 45, a citation for failure to supervise,” Edmiston said.
The teen was located on Wednesday by Morrow County deputies and was lodged at The Dalles juvenile detention facility and was cited on vandalism charges after being interviewed by Studebaker.
Edmiston praised the work of officer Mike Ellwood and training officer Doug Gill.
“The initial investigative efforts made on the part of Officers Ellwood and Gill was nothing shy of exceptional for what some may deem a mundane matter,” Edmiston said. “The subsequent follow up and inter-agency cooperation led by Detective Studebaker, triggered a chain of events where this troubled teen was located and lodged.”
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