HAWTHORNE – A Bronx man was arrested last Sunday after making graffiti along the Hutchinson River Parkway in Scarsdale and attempting to elude officers by running back and forth across the highway.
About 4 p.m., Westchester County Police received a report that a man was spray-painting graffiti on a wooden fence adjacent to the southbound lanes of the Hutchinson River Parkway, north of Weaver Street. The vandal was located by a patrol officer and ran off as the officer approached him.
The suspect ran across all lanes of the parkway and into a wooded area adjacent to the northbound lanes, losing both of his sneakers in the process. As other responding officers began a search, passing motorists reported that a man without shoes had just run back across the parkway to the southbound shoulder a short distance away.
Once again, the suspect entered a wooded area to try to avoid police.
Officers from WCPD and the Scarsdale Police Department canvassed the area for the suspect. The Aviation Unit, which was airborne at the time, also responded to assist in the search.
County officers then located a vehicle parked on Stratton Road, not far from the scene of the graffiti, and found the suspect hiding in the trunk.
Five cans of spray paint were recovered at the scene of the graffiti and 13 similar cans were found in the trunk of the suspect’s car. The vehicle, a 2016 Dodge Challenger, was impounded.
Gabriel Vasquez, 26, of Schieffelin Avenue, Bronx, was charged with making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments, all as misdemeanors. He was booked at county police headquarters in Hawthorne and released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in Scarsdale Village Court in August.
