Aaron Riis-Vestergaard
Ventura County – If you’re going to run around your local community using cans of spray pain to mark your territory, it might not be a great idea to taunt the cops with such slogans as “F*** the police” or “catch me if you can.”
As evidenced by the reaction of Ventura County Sheriff’s detectives and local law enforcement in the Ventura County foothill community of Ojai, such expressions of free speech—particularly when painted on public and private property throughout the city—become something of a professional challenge.
Taking up the gauntlet to apprehend the perpetrator who had little apparent regard for either the value of the properties defaced at the local Vons supermarket, Rite Aid store, Taco Bell, and Starbucks facilities, detectives reviewed surveillance video from multiple locations and identified Aaron Riis-Vestergaard, a 20-year-old resident of Ojai, as the principal suspect.
According to VCSD spokesman Detective Joe Mulrooney, Riis-Vestergaard was “captured on video in the act of vandalizing a local business,” while in the company of his dog.
One piece of video recorded portrays Riis-Vestergaard as he and his dog were crouching down to avoid oncoming auto headlights, whereupon “he then emerges from his hiding spot and spray paints the side of the business” with his dog at his side.
With such evidence in hand, Ojai Police detectives contacted Riis-Vestergaard. The ensuing interview with him produced a confession and promptly led to his arrest, whereupon he was transported to Ventura County Jail and booked on charges of vandalism with his bail set at $10,000.
Photo: Courtesy Facebook.com
