Suspect Arrested In Offensive Antioch Graffiti Attack
ANTIOCH (CBS SF) -- Police in Antioch announced Tuesday morning that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the weekend graffiti attack that left numerous buildings and vehicles defaced with offensive words and images.
The targets of the vandalism spree in the area of West 2nd Street and G Street thought to have been carried out late Saturday night and early Sunday morning also included cars and a celebrated downtown Antioch mural that were spray painted with vulgar words and phrases, racial slurs and offensive symbols, including swastikas.
Shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday, Antioch police posted on the department Facebook page that an arrest had been made after officers responded to tips from several community members identifying the suspect.
The suspect, identified by authorities as 24-year-old Antioch resident Lawrence Phipps, was found to have evidence connecting him to the crime at his residence, according to police. Evidence included clothing that Phipps was seen wearing in surveillance video that captured the suspect during and after the vandalism.
On Monday, police released images of the suspect in the crime, including one from Saturday that captured the person vandalizing city-owned vehicles.
"This is an excellent example of what can happen when the police and the community come together to work as a team," Antioch police said in the Facebook post. "As a community, we refuse to stand for this type of criminal behavior."
Antioch police did not detail the charges that Phipps would be facing, but the damage from the vandalism was estimated to be in the thousands of dollars.
Anyone with information on the vandalism is asked to contact Antioch police at 925-779-6945.
