Man accused of being ‘prolific tagger’

If you’re a Santa Clarita Valley resident, you’ve likely seen the work — on walls, sidewalks and public benches — in more than 1,900 displays of graffiti tagging that culminated this week in an arrest.

Christian Pacheco, 25, of Canyon Country, was arrested Monday on suspicion of felony vandalism.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, detectives with the SCV Sheriff’s Station’s Career Offenders, Burglary, and Robbery Apprehension (COBRA) team apprehended the person they believe is responsible for the tagging that allegedly occurred between January and December 2018.

“The yearlong investigation included efforts from patrol deputies, COBRA detectives and members of the city’s graffiti removal program team,” said Sgt. Brian Shreves, who oversees the station's COBRA team. “It was important for us to identify and apprehend the suspect.”

Shreves added: “Pacheco's criminal actions were both a financial burden, as well as an eyesore to the residents and business owners of Santa Clarita Valley.”

The images were most often spray painted, and they most often spelled out the word “Taser,” said Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station.

Taser allegedly refers to a friend of the suspect who died, she said.

Pacheco was identified by detectives with the help of members of the city of Santa Clarita's Graffiti Removal team, who used a software program to document all graffiti incidents within city limits.

By tracking the incidents, investigators were able to organize the graffiti in a database.

The location of identical tags could then be displayed on a map or a list, revealing patterns in place, time and frequency.

Sheriff’s detectives were able to view a list of the top taggers in a certain area, look at the patterns of when and where the tagging occurred and use investigative techniques to identify the suspect.

The acts of vandalism reportedly associated to Pacheco were documented in public right-ofway areas that included sidewalks, walls, signs and buildings located off of major thoroughfares such as Sierra Highway, Via Princessa and Soledad Canyon Road.

The majority of the graffiti was visible to the public in places of businesses, schools and parks.

Pacheco, who is on active probation for multiple crimes, was arrested and booked at the SCV Sheriff's Station.

He was being held without bail Friday at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic and is due to appear in court Thursday.