Police Nab Beachfront Graffiti Vandalism Suspects

The Clearwater police have charged two Pasco County teenagers with vandalizing beachfront property last month, when they allegedly spray-painted obscene gestures and language, according to a police report.

The vandalism was reported at about 2:41 a.m. on Oct. 22, when the graffiti was discovered at the Barefoot Beach House and along Clearwater’s Beach Walk area, including “No Skateboarding” signs, and at the South Gulfview Boulevard crosswalk near the Hyatt hotel, according to police.

A surveillance camera at the beach house captured one of the suspects “carrying what is believed to be a spray paint can,” the police report said. He was with five other juveniles.

One suspect is a 15-year-old boy from New Port Richey who is being held at the Pasco County juvenile detention facility, the police report said. The other is a 14-year-old boy from Holiday who is being held at a runaway alternative facility.

Each is charged with one felony count of criminal mischief, one misdemeanor count of criminal mischief and one felony count of trespassing on a construction site, related to vandalism that occurred on the Opal Sands hotel property, the police said.

Clearwater police detectives tracked down the two teens “and obtained full confessions of their involvement,” the police report said.