Man Convicted of Vandalizing Police Car : Crime: A jury finds the Reseda resident guilty of two misdemeanor counts stemming from the Aug. 21 incident. He faces six months in jail.
VAN NUYS — A Reseda man was convicted Thursday on vandalism charges for spray-painting graffiti on a police car--using 187, the number of the Penal Code section for murder.
A Van Nuys Municipal Court jury found Jose Guzman, 22, guilty of misdemeanor counts of vandalism and vehicle tampering in the Aug. 21 incident, which occurred when police broke up a party in the 19000 block of Lanark Street in Reseda.
Judge Paul I. Metzler is scheduled to sentence Guzman on Jan. 3. Guzman will remain free on $13,000 bail until then.
Guzman, a reputed gang member, and a juvenile both sprayed graffiti on a Los Angeles Police Department patrol car while officers where inside a residence dispersing an unruly crowd, according to Deputy City Atty. Gary Geuss.
In addition to the graffiti, the pair also slashed two tires on the patrol car, according to testimony at Guzman’s trial.
The juvenile previously pleaded guilty to vandalism and was sentenced to community service, Geuss said.
Testifying at Guzman’s trial as a defense witness, the juvenile said he was responsible for all of the graffiti, but Geuss produced a witness who said Guzman also sprayed 187.
In addition to threatening authorities with a reference to murder, the vandalism also took police off the streets, Geuss said. “We also don’t know how many calls went unanswered because this unit was out of service,†he said.
The prosecutor said he plans to seek a six-month jail sentence for Guzman.
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