Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Andy Cronin at Thursday’s Littlerock Town Council meeting asked for the public’s assistance to help stop graffiti violators who have recently caused thousands of dollars in damage to local businesses.
In his law enforcement update to the Town Council, Deputy Cronin said that Littlerock has been “hammered” lately with graffiti, describing how four to five juveniles tagged businesses along Highway 138 early last Monday morning.
“They started over by the Littlerock Grill, and they went as far down as 82nd Street, mostly the southside of the street – just bombed the whole area with graffiti,” Cronin said. “I don’t care what people say; it’s not art – because you’re destroying other people’s property. … That’s money that they (shop owners) have to take out of their pocket to pay to get it cleaned up.”
Deputy Cronin told people at Thursday’s Town Council meeting to keep their ears open for any kind of talk around the community that may lead to arresting the vandals.
“When kids do stuff like this, they like to brag,” Cronin said. “A lot of times they slip up and start running their mouths. They don’t care who hears because they want to brag about it.”
Also helping his investigation is video surveillance from the Littlerock Grill, which shows “these guys on surveillance tape tagging up their restaurant,” Cronin said.
In addition, Cronin said one business owner has reached out in his own way to offer a reward for information that will lead to the offenders.
“I do have one gentleman that thinks he knows who they might be,” Deputy Cronin said. “He got information from somebody because he reached out. … So these people are coming forward and giving him information, who in turn are going to give me information.”
Cronin explained that the offenders are facing a felony for their graffiti, and their parents will be held responsible for picking up the tab.
“What I saw there was thousands of dollars in damage – and this happened over night,” he said. “So if anybody hears anything … you got a name or something, stop me and talk to me and let me know.”
Deputy Cronin can be reached through the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station at 661-272-2400. The Palmdale Sheriff’s Station is located at 750 East Avenue Q in Palmdale. Visit the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station on Facebook at facebook.com/PalmdaleSheriffsStation.
Los Angeles County offers a 24-hour Graffiti Hot Line for graffiti removal in the unincorporated areas. Call the Graffiti Hot Line at 1-800-675-4357. More information on reporting graffiti can be found at dpw.lacounty.gov.
Littlerock Town Council Meetings are held 7 to 10 p.m. every 2nd Thursday of the month at the Littlerock High School Community Center. Visit http://littlerocktc.org for more information.
