Four men, including an employee of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, have been formally charged in connection with a yearlong graffiti spree that prosecutors allege caused more than $170,000 in property damage across downtown Los Angeles and surrounding areas.
Javier Rezendez Rocha, who worked as an aide to electricians for the LADWP, faces 12 felony vandalism counts, according to a criminal complaint released Thursday. Rocha and three co-defendants are accused of executing a coordinated campaign of illegal tagging that spanned from August 2025 to August 2026.
According to a statement from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, the suspects utilized specialized equipment to scale buildings and deface properties with spray-paint tags and other markings. Investigators stated that the group recorded their activities using drones, allegedly seeking financial profit and social media attention rather than traditional artistic expression.
“These defendants turned buildings across Los Angeles into their personal billboards, leaving property owners with over $170,000 in repair costs,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “Their alleged motive: not artistic expression but money and social media eyeballs. They are accused of going to extraordinary lengths to commit these crimes, using climbing equipment and drones to record their vandalism then allegedly profiting from it.”
Court documents and statements from prosecutors highlight several specific locations targeted during the yearlong campaign. The criminal complaint lists addresses matching historic buildings in the downtown corridor, including the Cameo Theatre and the Roxie Theatre. Additional incidents took place within Pershing Square and outside the downtown core near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.
Authorities also stated that city-owned rappelling equipment was allegedly utilized during the offenses and subsequently displayed online, according to a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Alongside Rocha, three other men face felony charges in the case. Michael Ray Gonzales, 40, of Pico Rivera has been charged with seven counts of felony vandalism. Francisco Rodriguez Aguilar, 37, of West Covina, and Richard Evan Ward II, 45, of Oceanside, were each charged with two counts of felony vandalism.
Legal representation for the defendants was not immediately clear following the announcement of the charges. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the case and the employment status of Rocha.
