On Saturday, March 16, 2013 while on routine patrol, a deputy assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station conducted an enforcement stop of an adult male near Newhall Avenue. The deputy arrested the man after reportedly finding methamphetamine in his possession. During the contact, the proactive deputy quickly realized that the suspect closely matched the description of the man being sought in connection with 160 recent incidents of graffiti related vandalism and tagging in Santa Clarita.
The suspect, Newhall resident Nicolas Palma, male Hispanic age 19, was booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance. COBRA detectives were notified and began an immediate follow-up investigation into Mr. Palma’s potential involvement in the incidents of graffiti.
This morning, Monday, March 18, 2013, COBRA detectives from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station served a search warrant at Mr. Palma’s Newhall residence. Through the investigation, detectives reportedly uncovered additional information and evidence believed to be connected to the many of the recent incidents of vandalism. Mr. Palma is alleged to have committed in excess of $40,000 worth of graffiti-related vandalism.
Detectives will submit the information to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration. Mr. Palma is currently being held at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station in lieu of $10,000 bail. Mr. Palma is scheduled to appear in North Valley Superior Court in San Fernando tomorrow, March 19, 2013.
No further information is available at this time.
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Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Deputies are Seeking Public Assistance in Identifying Alledged Graffiti Vandal -
https://local.nixle.com/alert/4973818/
Detectives from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station's Career Offenders, Burglary, Robbery Apprehension (COBRA) Team are seeking public assistance in identifying a person of interest thought to be responsible for approximately 160 different incidents of graffiti vandalism.
The attached photo is of the person COBRA Detectives would like to talk to in connection with the crimes.
Each one of the incidents involved the word "KRONZ" being spray painted or written onto walls, buildings and other property resulting in thousands of dollars in damages. The majority of the incidents have been committed using spray paint and have occurred near Newhall Avenue.
During the course of this investigation, detectives were able to obtain the attached photos of the suspected vandal.
He is described as an Hispanic male, approximately 18 to 21 years-old, with an unknown type of tattoo on his neck.
If you know the identity of the person shown in these photos, or his whereabouts, detectives are asking that you call LA Crime Stoppers by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org
To report graffiti within the City of Santa Clarita please call (661)-25-CLEAN/ (661)-252-5326 or use the City's eService request system on the Report Graffiti tab.
No further information is available at this time, as this investigation is ongoing.
Deputy Joshua Dubin
[email protected]
661-255-1121 EXT. 4411
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Twitter @SCVSheriff http://www.twitter.com/scvsheriff
Twitter @jdLASD http://www.twitter.com/jdLASD
SCV Station Homepage - http://www.santaclarita.lasd.org
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SantaClaritaValleySheriffsStation
