On January 17th, 2013, Fife Police Detectives ran a story with a request from the public for information about a serial graffiti tagger that went by the moniker “Chino.” This person had been spray painting graffiti at different locations across the city causing thousands of dollars in damage to public buildings, businesses, and private homes.
Detectives were able to develop possible suspect information and, following up on a lead from the staff at Columbia Jr. High, interviewed two students who admitted to their involvement in the crimes. These two suspects gave information about a third suspect who is an adult Fife resident. Detectives were able to track him down and when he was contacted at his residence, he also admitted to being involved in the graffiti tagging.
The adult suspect was booked into the Fife City Jail and was charged with 21 counts of malicious mischief. He is currently being held on $42,000 bail. One of the juvenile suspects was a repeat offender and was booked into Remann Hall. Charges on the third suspect were forwarded to the Pierce County Juvenile Prosecutor for review.
In all, 21 cases that dated back to the beginning of November 2012 were solved by these arrests.
