MOORPARK : Youths Arrested in Graffiti Threat

An investigation into a graffiti death threat against a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy assigned to the city of Moorpark has resulted in the arrest of four Moorpark teen-agers, officials said Tuesday.

Deputies patrolling Moorpark shortly after noon Nov. 4 reported finding fresh graffiti on a wall in an alley behind the 100 block of 2nd Street that included gang nicknames and the number 187 painted next to the name of the deputy, according to a report by Sheriff’s Detective Dave Lea.

Section 187 of the state Penal Code refers to murder, Lea said, and the markings were interpreted as threats to a peace officer who had recently had several contacts with members of the gang suspected of painting the graffiti.

Shortly after the graffiti was found, Rigoberto Mendez, 19, of the same block of 2nd Street, was arrested on suspicion of making the threats and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Arrested later on suspicion of threatening a peace officer were Raymond Gutierrez, 19, and two 17-year-olds, Lea said. All the suspects were released from custody pending trial except Mendez, who was being held in Ventura County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.