A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employee has been charged with 12 felony counts, and three other people are facing a lesser number of counts in connection with an alleged yearlong graffiti vandalism spree that caused nearly $173,000 in damage, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Javier Rezendez Rocha, 38, of Los Angeles, who has worked as an LADWP electrical craft helper since 2018, is set to be arraigned Oct. 23 on 12 felony counts of vandalism of $400 or more in defacement with graffiti, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Also charged are Michael Ray Gonzales, 40, of Pico Rivera, who is charged with seven felony counts of vandalism of $400 or more in defacement with graffiti, and Francisco Rodriguez Aguilar, 37, of West Covina, and Richard Evan Ward II, 45, of Oceanside, in San Diego County, who are each facing two felony counts of vandalism of $400 or more in defacement with graffiti.
“They are accused of going to extraordinary lengths to commit these crimes, using climbing equipment and drones to record their vandalism then allegedly profiting from it,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges. “Even more troubling, one defendant is a public utility employee who allegedly used climbing equipment to reach the locations to damage buildings, several of which are significant to the historical and architectural fabric of Los Angeles.”
Rocha and his co-defendants allegedly used drones to capture footage of the graffiti vandalism and generated profits through merchandise sales, with the damage resulting in $172,930 in repair costs, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors allege that the crimes occurred between August 2025 and August 2026.
In the statement, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said the defendants “allegedly targeted some of our city’s most iconic buildings and public spaces.”
Rodriguez Aguilar is set to be arraigned Monday. Ward pleaded not guilty this week and is free on his own recognizance while awaiting his next court appearance Nov. 19.
No arraignment date has been set yet for Gonzales.
Rocha could face up to 10 years and four months in county jail while Gonzales faces up to seven years, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which noted that Rodriguez Aguilar and Ward could each face a maximum of three years and eight months behind bars.