SLO graffiti suspect who spray-painted more than two dozen spots detained, police say
A San Luis Obispo man accused of spray-painting graffiti at more than two dozen spots in the city was detained Monday, according to the San Luis Obispo Police Department.
At 8:34 a.m. Monday, police received a call from a citizen who was walking on a path adjacent to the train tracks near Poinsettia Street in the Arbors neighborhood, the agency said in a Friday news release.
The caller told police they saw a man holding a can of white spray paint and, a short time later, saw “fresh graffiti on the path, as well as in a nearby tunnel that goes under the train tracks and connects to the Spanish Oaks neighborhood.”
Officers were unable to locate the suspect in the area, police said, but found 12 areas where the same graffiti tag was painted on street signs, in the tunnel and on concrete walls.
The tag looks like a sad face with Xs for eyes, according to a photo.
On Monday afternoon, an officer spotted the suspect — identified as 19-year-old Benjamin Cain —walking with another man on Santa Rosa Street near the Olive Street intersection, according to the release.
Cain held a skateboard painted with the graffiti tag, and his companion had the tag painted onto his jacket, police said.
Later on Monday, the police department received another report of vandalism with the same graffiti tag — this time on 12 locations in the French Park neighborhood.
Police detained Cain on suspicion of vandalism, the release said.
As of Friday, Cain was not in custody at San Luis Obispo County Jail, according to the inmate booking log.
To report vandalism with the same tag, call the San Luis Obispo Police Officer Favian Amaya at 805-594-8079.
This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 11:17 AM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of the story incorrectly recounted the suspect’s interaction with the police. Police detained the suspect on Monday, but did not arrest him.
