Local businesses have been a victim of acid graffiti crimes
Business owners like Joy Meredith are speaking out against Acid Graffiti in her community and how they are inconvenienced financially by the actions of others. Meredith said, "And so we're looking not only to be able to catch these vandalizers, but also to put some sort of program in place that can maybe help merchants in the future because the cost of replacing plate glass windows is huge". Meredith Is the owner of a family-owned business called Crystal Fantasy in Downtown Palm Springs. They have been in the area for thirty-four years.
Approximately 300 feet away is Wabi Sabi Japan Living, owned by Darrell Baum and his partner Sam Sagara whose front window was vandalized during the Graffiti Spree on May 16th, 2022. Darrel made it clear that they were not financially equipped to pay for the window to be fixed. He shared with us that it would cost them $2000 thousand to replace the window.
In a Palm Springs PD Facebook post, they said, "On Monday, May 16th, 2022, PSPD investigated eight different vandalism incidents in the downtown area of Palm Springs. The suspects utilized an acid marker on the windows of various businesses between the 100-300 block of N Palm Canyon Drive. The device caused permanent etching to the glass leading to thousands of dollars in damages".
If you have any information related to this incident, please contact Detective Matt Steed at 760-323-8157 or Matthew.Steed@palmspringsca.gov
Lieutenant Gustavo Araiza informed us that, eight of the eleven businesses reported the incident and that the department is working to find the possible suspects that are shown in the photo below:
Businesses that were vandalized:
1. 300 Wabi Sabi Japan Living
2. 310 John Hart Real Estate
3. 318 “empty space “
4. 320 Ryan Property Management
5. 333 ste 108-A (empty)
6. 282 Desert of Hats
7. 232 OG Arabia Nights
8. 200 Tinder Box
9. 180 Running Wild
10. 174 New build-out
