Police in Santa Cruz, Calif., arrested two suspects after a “Black Lives Matter” mural was defaced in the city, according to law enforcement.
In a press release published Sunday, Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD) said that morning they received a report of vandalism of the Black Lives Matter mural painted at 800 Center Street in the city.
SCPD said their detectives were able to obtain video showing a vehicle doing burnouts and “applying tire tread marks across the length of the mural.”
SCPD arrested suspects 20-year-old Brandon Bochat and 19-year-old Hagan Warner in connection with the crime, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
In a press conference, SCPD police chief Andy Mills said that the suspects’ actions were intentional, saying they chose to do burnouts on the mural instead of other places in the city.
“The Black, the community at large, the people of color in our community felt this was a personal attack,” Mills said. “Let’s face it, of the 5,000-plus street segments in our city, that was the only one? We can see what took place here.”
This latest incident comes as the Sacramento Bee reported in June that three out of four highways that read “Black Lives Matter” were defaced or vandalized.
Bochat and Warner were both charged with felony vandalism and conspiracy to commit a felony. They were released on bail, Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.
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