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December 19
1970 - Snow day in Santa Clarita Valley [photos]
Saugus train station


taggerarrestedscvsheriffOn Wednesday night, around 9:30 p.m., Detective Jeff Burrow of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, spotted an adult male in the act of spray painting underneath a Canyon Country bridge.

Area patrol units were summoned to the riverbed, where the suspect was identified to be Ricardo Gomez, 23, a Canyon Country resident. Gomez had spray painted the letters “ROVE” underneath a bridge located on Sierra Highway, near Sandy Drive. He was detained and arrested for felony vandalism. Suspect Gomez admitted to similar tagging incidents dating back to February 2015. These prior tagging incidents are estimated to have caused over $10,000 in graffiti damages to the City of Santa Clarita.

As always, we encourage the public, “’If You See Something, Say Something.” The greatest deterrent to crime is often a phone call to law enforcement by a person who sees something that just doesn’t look right.

Partner to prevent or report crime by contacting your local Sheriff’s Station. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), or text the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637,) or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org/

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20 Comments

  1. Denny NNWofLA says:

    Tags- The desperate marks of little ‘men’ that will never amount to anything worthwhile in their entire life.

  2. Greg Brown says:

    Catch these ppl, take a picture and the city will give you a cash reward and honors. They did it to my Dad when he caught kids at VHS tagging. He got $500.00!!!
    (And the city looks clean!)

  3. Ryan Connor says:

    You guys just made this tagger famous the exact thing a writer wants is his name seen by everybody. Educate this kid is probably a great artist don’t shame him teach him

    • Ryan Connor says:

      Why the thumbs down thumbs down that you don’t believe he could be educated on how to better use his art rather than made into a criminal Point him in the right direction of an art class maybe a mandatory art class

  4. Now he needs to clean it off & pay a Big Fine!!!

  5. I would delete this picture and put up another picture of someone else’s tag as an example instead. Otherwise the taggers goal has been reached by the numbers of people who see it….

  6. Dan says:

    He’s probably not a great artist…there are many artists but few great ones. I recommend a big fine and some time behind bars so that he can help be a lesson to others who tag. At this time, that may be his best use in life.

  7. lighttech says:

    I have always thought this….some years from now after they are caught.

    Someone is sent at night to TAG the crud out of their new car and insurance will not cover it!

    Just fills in for the damage I am sure they never got ‘caught’ for!

  8. What a huge waste of obvious talent, sad?

  9. This is actually beautiful.
    Send this artist in the right direction with his talent!

  10. I’m sure he’s pleased that you posted his tag on Facebook…..

  11. Christina Herman says:

    So, you caught the guy, and so what do you do? Arrest him and fine him and the artwork stays on the wall. I say have a deputy watch him as he scrubs and washes it off – or better yet, have his parents chaperone him as he washes it off, that way it doesn’t cost the city any money and he’s learned a lesson. If he doesn’t, you can have him wash any other walls that were marked.

  12. Huh, we didn’t have graffiti and gangs in the past in SCV… I wonder what changed?

  13. Dan says:

    RE: Schooling the tagging artist. There are plenty of aspiring artists who are better than this guy. If you’re going to spend money educating someone, reward the people who don’t tag.

  14. Tessa Lucero says:

    @Ruben Norte, I’ve lived in the SCV since 1990 and there have been graffiti and gangs as long as I’ve been here.

  15. A fitting punishment would be to make him clean off graffiti for 3 months. And if he’s caught again, he has to clean it up for 6 months.

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SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Friday, Dec 19, 2025
City Presents ‘Pop Culture’ Art Exhibit at the Newhall Community Center
The city of Santa Clarita will present its latest art exhibition, “Pop Culture,” on view at the Newhall Community Center now through March 25, 2026.
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025
Applications Are Open for the Summer 2026 Lifeguard Season
Do you have a passion for swimming and a desire to make an impact in your community? The city of Santa Clarita is seeking individuals with strong customer service skills and a commitment to community engagement to join its lifeguard team.
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025
Dec. 19: No Burn Day Alert Issued for SCV, South Coast Air Basin
Santa Clarita Valley residents need to put down the yule log and refrain from all residental wood burning fires on Friday, Dec. 19.
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