A man and a woman suspected of collaborating to vandalize the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles by painting explicit graffiti on the headquarters of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office have been taken into custody, authorities announced Tuesday.
Christopher Gonzalez-Ruiz, 20, was identified as a person of interest after deputies witnessed him on Monday using a paint roller to graffiti an area of the building measuring approximately 18 feet by 12 feet, according to the sheriff’s department.
Sheriff’s officials said Ruiz used beige paint in his graffiti, which included profanity directed at a federal agency.
Ruiz was identified as the same person of interest seen committing a similar act of vandalism on the building’s south wall in the 500 block of North Broadway, where graffiti covered an area of about 18 feet by 20 feet, according to the sheriff’s department.
Deputies identified 40-year-old Yoselyn Johnson as a second person of interest, who allegedly acted as a lookout and was observed video recording the vandalism.
“Following the second incident, deputies contacted both suspects and took them into custody,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
During the arrest, deputies discovered several large buckets of paint and a 10-foot extension pole believed to have been used in committing the crimes.
Both suspects were arrested and booked on suspicion of felony vandalism.
According to the sheriff’s department, the case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for potential criminal filing.
Anyone with additional information regarding the alleged vandalism was urged to call the Major Crimes Bureau at 562-946-7893. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.