KAILUA-KONA — Graffitied buildings. Tagged rock walls. Spray-painted picnic tables and bathroom facilities. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — Graffitied buildings. Tagged rock walls. Spray-painted picnic tables and bathroom facilities. Taggings in various places litter the streets and parks in Kona. Sgt. Edwin
KAILUA-KONA — Graffitied buildings. Tagged rock walls. Spray-painted picnic tables and bathroom facilities.
KAILUA-KONA — Graffitied buildings. Tagged rock walls. Spray-painted picnic tables and bathroom facilities.
Taggings in various places litter the streets and parks in Kona. Sgt. Edwin A. Buyten with Hawaii Police Department said since his return to patrol from vice two years ago, he’s seen a rise in graffiti.
Charmaine L. Kamaka, Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation director, said graffiti is like litter.
“It’s a constant battle,” she said.
It’s also a waste of resources and man hours, Kamaka said.
“The best way to combat that is to engage the community,” Kamaka said. “If you see it, take it out.”
Kamaka added the department cares for 200 facilities. When staff have to do graffiti cleanup, she said, it takes away from regular repair and clean and safe facilities.
There was an influx of graffiti in June where someone had tagged Keauhou Shopping Center, Keauhou Scenic Lookout and Manuka State Park. Buyten said a lot of reports of vandalism were also coming from businesses, outside and inside stores in Kona and Ka’u.
Officers were also getting reports of tagging in Ocean View.
On July 1, a task force was put together to address the recent complaints. With some help from the public, police were able to identify Victor Manuel Martinez, 35, as a suspect in the Keauhou graffiti and other vandalism in the area.
During a criminal search, they learned Martinez had been in trouble with graffiti in the past, Buyten said. At that point, the task force began their surveillance on the Ocean View man.
Based on evidence, officers obtained a search warrant for his vehicle on July 16. Inside the car, officers found cans of spray paint, pens, sharpies and notebooks with his tagline written out.
Martinez was arrested and booked on charges of criminal property damage, drugs and weapon offenses. He entered a not guilty plea on July 28 and a jury trial is scheduled for November.
In a separate incident, Waikoloa School was also hit with graffiti. Officer Roylen Valera said police got the report on June 19 at 8:21 a.m.
Stephanie Landers, president of Parent Teacher Student Association, said five buildings and the playground were covered with offensive taggings.
“It took 50 people to clean the mess up,” Landers said.
Valera said the case at the school is still under investigation. No arrests have been made.
Police categorize graffiti as criminal property damage. It can vary from first to fourth degree depending on the cost of the damage. From May 1 to July 31, Valera said, there were 70 criminal property damage cases reported.
During the same time period last year, there were 96 cases reported.
