LONG BEACH -- Three men were arrested for vandalizing a Long Beach church and are believed to be partly responsible for a rash of tagging that has blighted portions of the city recently.
Long Beach Police announced the arrests Thursday, a day after a resident spotted three men tagging the Epic Center Church, 4801 Long Beach Blvd., around 12:30 a.m. and called authorities to report the crime.
When the first two patrol units arrived at the scene the suspects scattered, said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
The first two officers on scene were able to stop two of the men, she said.
Seeing the officers had two suspects under control a third unit swept through the area and found a third suspect, who was also arrested, Pratt said.
All of the suspects were found with what appeared to be evidence linking them to the scene of the crime, Pratt said.
Two of the men are from Long Beach and the third is from Torrance, she said.
One of the men, a 25-year-old Long Beach resident, was arrested on a charge of vandalism and found in violation of his parole, Pratt said.
The other Long Beach man, who is 23, was charged with vandalism and being drunk in public.
The Torrance man, who is 28, was also charged with public intoxication and vandalism, Pratt said.
Because the investigation was still active Wednesday the suspects' names were not immediately available.
Pratt said hundreds of dollars in damage was done to the church.
And the church, which is described as a Christian church on its website, is not the only victim in the area to be hit by a recent rash of tagging, she said.
Police have been dealing with a spike in vandalism throughout the community and urged anyone who sees vandalism or graffiti being done to immediately call 911, Pratt said.
"Part of the reason we caught these individuals was because we did receive a call from an alert citizen and we were able to respond quickly," Pratt said.
Long Beach Police announced the arrests Thursday, a day after a resident spotted three men tagging the Epic Center Church, 4801 Long Beach Blvd., around 12:30 a.m. and called authorities to report the crime.
When the first two patrol units arrived at the scene the suspects scattered, said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
The first two officers on scene were able to stop two of the men, she said.
Seeing the officers had two suspects under control a third unit swept through the area and found a third suspect, who was also arrested, Pratt said.
All of the suspects were found with what appeared to be evidence linking them to the scene of the crime, Pratt said.
Two of the men are from Long Beach and the third is from Torrance, she said.
One of the men, a 25-year-old Long Beach resident, was arrested on a charge of vandalism and found in violation of his parole, Pratt said.
The other Long Beach man, who is 23, was charged with vandalism and being drunk in public.
The Torrance man, who is 28, was also charged with public intoxication and vandalism, Pratt said.
Because the investigation was still active Wednesday the suspects' names were not immediately available.
Pratt said hundreds of dollars in damage was done to the church.
And the church, which is described as a Christian church on its website, is not the only victim in the area to be hit by a recent rash of tagging, she said.
Police have been dealing with a spike in vandalism throughout the community and urged anyone who sees vandalism or graffiti being done to immediately call 911, Pratt said.
"Part of the reason we caught these individuals was because we did receive a call from an alert citizen and we were able to respond quickly," Pratt said.
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