On Wednesday October 5, 2016 at about one in the afternoon the Twin Falls Police Department received a call of a person spray painting graffiti on a stop sign at the intersection of Falls Avenue and Harrison Street. Officers were dispatched to the area and confirmed that the stop sign was spray painted with the words “Can’t” and “Lerk” on it. Officers located a male in the area matching the description given by the reporting person and engaged the individual in conversation. The male was identified as twenty year old Jhoan Martinez-Melchor. During the course of the investigation we also learned that a public restroom at Frontier Park had also been spray-painted. Based upon the investigation Mr. Martinez was arrested without incident on two counts of malicious injury to property. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone who has information related to graffiti specifically with the wording of “Lerk” in it is encouraged to contact the Twin Falls Police Department at 208-735-4357. Working together the police department and the citizens of Twin Falls can address these issues.
TRESPASS AND MALICIOUS INJURIES TO PROPERTY
18-7001. MALICIOUS INJURY TO PROPERTY. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, every person who maliciously injures or destroys any real or personal property not his own, or any jointly owned property without permission of the joint owner, or any property belonging to the community of the person's marriage, in cases otherwise than such as are specified in this code, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one (1) year or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.