Community Corner

Vandal, 18, Jailed for Nine Months

Watsonville teen's countywide tagging spree caused $25K in damage.

A Watsonville teen who pleaded guilty to 10 counts of vandalism and was will spend nine months in Santa Cruz County Jail, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Alfonso Remijio Jaquez, 18, was tied to more than $25,000 in damage at businesses, a UC Santa Cruz bus and public property.

Wednesday morning, a business owner, Santa Cruz city leaders and community crime-fighting groups packed Judge Paul Marigonda's courtroom to show their support for a stiff sentence.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"This is a major problem in the community," said Tim Sheehan, a managing partner of Gateway Plaza, a Santa Cruz shopping center tagged by Jaquez. "I think we have to address it and I think we need to send a message."

Jaquez and another teen, who is a minor, were arrested in January following a sheriff's investigation into their tagging crew.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jaquez was linked to almost $2,000 in damage while tagging his moniker, "HEXO," on public property in Watsonville, according to a tally put together by sheriff's Sgt. Robin Mitchell. The majority of his vandalism was found in Santa Cruz on highway overpasses and trestles, bus benches, beach trails, local parks, walls and several semis owned by Favela Trucking. The damage to the trucks alone neared $10,000, Mitchell reported.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Gill said "Jaquez is one of the most prolific" serial taggers in the county and asked Marigonda to mete out a significant jail sentence for "retribution" and to send a message to other taggers.

"The community is tired of it," Gill said. "They're not going to stand for it anymore."

Jaquez's attorney, Diana August, asked that her client be sentenced to probation and urged Marigonda not to be swayed by the presence of community leaders in the courtroom.

""We don't have mob justice .... Do what's fair and just," she said, pointing to her client's youth, his remorse and his guilty plea as reasons why he should not be jailed any longer. By Wednesday, Jaquez had been jailed for 50 days.

Jaquez apologized in court. He said he has offered to clean up the tags and "do whatever it takes to get past this."

But Gill said Jaquez told his girlfriend in jailhouse conversations monitored by sheriff's deputies that he expected to get a light sentence and planned to meet up with his tagging crew, Urban Icon Klan, to go over guidelines so they don't get caught. The teen considers the community a big canvas for his graffiti, Gill said, citing a report done by the county's probation department.

Marigonda suggested Jaquez "get a pad and paper and sketch to your heart's content."

A few of Jaquez's friends attended the sentencing hearing but didn't address the judge. Outside of court, Joanna Magdaleno defended Jaquez.

"He's a really good guy. He's a really good artist," she said. "He wasn't trying to destroy people's property. It's unfortunate that he got caught up this way."

After Jaquez finishes serving his jail sentence, he will be on probation for three years and be required to pay more than $25,000 in restitution and court fines. He also will perform 400 hours of community service, including at least 250 hours working with the Graffiti Removal Project.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here