Tagger Suspect Arrested

News Article Evokes Critical Information
By Gary Meyer

A vandal who may have cost the Frazier Park Public Utilities District thousands of dollars has been caught, just two weeks after the community was asked to help, according to Kern County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Brown.

Justin Romanowski, 22, of Frazier Park was arrested at 4 p.m., Monday, May 4 after being interviewed by Sr. Deputy James Newell. He is being held on $20,000 bail.

“The news article caused two concerned citizens to call and say that they know who ‘J ROCK’ is,” Sgt. Brown told The Mountain Enterprise on Tuesday, May 5, referring to the April 17 story in which a photograph showed J ROCK’s tag on a water tank.

“Based on our interview of the suspect and on his having ‘J ROCK’ tattooed on his left arm, we had probable cause to arrest him,” Brown said.

Romanowski was expected to be arraigned on vandalism charges Wednesday, May 6.

California Superior Court records show that a Justin Julian Romanowski with an alias of “J ROCK” pled guilty in December of 2008 to DUI Alcohol.

Anyone with information that may lead to the apprehension of others involved in the graffiti vandalism to water company tanks is asked to call Sr. Deputy Newell at (661) 245-3440. The cost to repair the tanks is taking money the district needs to replace aged pipes to deliver water to Frazier Park homes.

This is part of the May 08, 2009 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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