Prolific graffiti suspect arrested

Aptos’ Cody Chirolo, 21, was arrested April 29 in connection with at least 27 instances of graffiti across the county, including two spray-painted “murals” in Scotts Valley.
Chirolo is suspected of leaving his mark on heavily visible locations across the county.
“He’s putting up big murals across storefronts of businesses,” Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Robin Mitchell said.
Chirolo’s mark was discovered at two locations in Scotts Valley, Mitchell said. The first was a 4-foot-by-12-foot mural on the wall of The Vineyards housing tract facing Highway 17 on March 6. The second was a 4-foot-by-15-foot mural discovered on the back of Café Carlos on April 21.
Scotts Valley police officers estimated each mural would cost more than $100 in paint costs alone to cover.
“It’s unusual to have large murals in Scotts Valley,” Sgt. Mark Lopez said. “The graffiti we usually get is more somebody sitting at a bus stop and writing something on the bench while they’re there.”
The sheriff’s office initially arrested Chirolo and interviewed him about an unrelated crime on April 17. He continued to leave his mark, investigators said.
“He knew he was going to be facing charges for graffiti,” Mitchell said. “After he was thoroughly interviewed, he continued to tag.”
Countywide, the estimated cost of covering up the graffiti is $4,000, and it would cost $12,000 to restore the damaged property to its original condition.