MILTON- FREEWATER — Video footage led Milton-Freewater police to issue a felony citation to a juvenile for graffiti, Milton-Freewater Police Chief Joe Shurtz reported.

Milton-Freewater officers on patrol March 10 at approximately 2:24 a.m. discovered graffiti on the Visual Eyes Building at 320 N. Columbia St., according to a news release from Shurtz. The officers determined the graffiti was recent.

The officers searched the area but were unable to locate anyone responsible for the graffiti. But they obtained video footage from the eye doctor’s office, according to Shurtz, which allowed them to identify the suspect as a Hispanic male juvenile.

“Further information about the suspect will not be released due to his age,” Shurtz stated.

Officers on Saturday, March 15, contacted the suspect and took him into custody for first-degree criminal mischief, a Class C felony. Police, per procedure, notified the Umatilla County Juvenile Department and issued the juvenile a criminal citation and released him to his parents instead of placing him in a juvenile detention center.

“Milton-Freewater has recently seen an uptick in graffiti,” according to Shurtz.

Graffiti cases can be extremely difficult to investigate due to a lack of substantial evidence, Shurtz explained, but MFPD in this case were able to make the arrest due to the quality of the video.

“While we want to make an arrest of every single case of graffiti, the stark reality is that’s not possible,” he stated.

The case now goes to the county juvenile department for review and prosecution.