Suspected Soquel Serial Tagger Caught With Paint On Hands: Sheriff’s Office

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — A Santa Cruz County man was arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of vandalism thanks to an alert citizen, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office officials said Monday. On June 22, a vigilant witness saw a male tagging property along Soquel Drive near Park Avenue and called the sheriff’s office.

Officials said deputies detained a man, later identified as Brandon Valencia, 20, who allegedly had spray paint on his hands and clothes. Deputies recovered a can of spray paint from a nearby field and found the tag "BA$0" painted 14 times in the area.

“Deputy Dunn quickly realized the tag ‘BA$0’ from numerous vandalism cases he had investigated throughout 2017,” sheriff’s officials said. “The previous unknown ‘BA$0’ had been responsible for thousands of dollars worth of damage. ‘BA$0’ had been tagged on numerous buildings, walls, electrical boxes, and benches throughout Soquel this year.”

Valencia was arrested after a probation search of his home allegedly turned up the tag “BA$0” on items in his bedroom.

Photo courtesy Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page