LADWP Worker Charged in Yearlong Los Angeles Graffiti Spree That Caused $172,930 in Damage

LOS ANGELES

A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employee and three other men have been charged in connection with an alleged yearlong graffiti vandalism spree across Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday, October 15, in an announcement also reported by MyNewsLA. Prosecutors allege the alleged spree caused $172,930 in damage. The charges are allegations only. No defendant has been convicted in this case, and each accused man is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

According to the District Attorney's Office and MyNewsLA, the accused LADWP employee is Javier Rezendez Rocha, 38, of Los Angeles. Prosecutors described him as an electrical craft helper with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power who has worked for the department since 2018. He is charged with 12 felony counts of vandalism of $400 or more in defacement with graffiti, according to the District Attorney's Office and MyNewsLA, and he is set to be arraigned on October 23. Arraignment is an early court step at which charges are formally presented; it is not a finding of guilt.

Who else is charged, according to prosecutors

Three other men are also accused in the case, according to the District Attorney's Office announcement as reported by MyNewsLA. Michael Ray Gonzales, 40, of Pico Rivera, is charged with seven felony counts of the same alleged offense, prosecutors said. Francisco Rodriguez Aguilar, 37, of West Covina, is charged with two felony counts, and Richard Evan Ward II, 45, of Oceanside, is also charged with two felony counts, according to the District Attorney's Office and MyNewsLA. Previously is describing every count in this article as alleged because the case, as announced, rests on a criminal complaint and prosecutors' allegations that have not been tested at trial.

Prosecutors allege the alleged spree ran from August 2025 through August 2026, a period of roughly a year, and caused $172,930 in repair costs, according to the District Attorney's Office and MyNewsLA. That damage figure is the prosecutors' alleged repair total, attributed here to the District Attorney's Office announcement and to MyNewsLA's reporting of it. It is not a figure Previously has independently calculated from individual property repair bills, and readers should understand it as the amount prosecutors allege the alleged vandalism cost to repair.

What prosecutors allege happened

According to the District Attorney's Office announcement, the defendants allegedly used ladders and specialized climbing equipment to scale tall buildings, spray-painted graffiti down the sides of structures, used drones to record the alleged crimes, and allegedly profited by selling merchandise associated with the graffiti. MyNewsLA's reporting of the announcement described the same alleged methods. The New York Post, in separate reporting on the charges, reported that prosecutors say Rocha allegedly used specialized utility gear and climbing ropes; that specific detail is attributed to the New York Post. The Post also reported Rocha's base salary range as $75,335 to $102,249; that salary range is likewise attributed to the New York Post and was not stated in the portions of the District Attorney's announcement summarized by MyNewsLA.

Keeping those attributions separate matters. The core charges, the defendants' names and ages, the alleged August 2025 through August 2026 timeframe and the alleged $172,930 damage total are credited here to two sources: the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and MyNewsLA. The salary range and the utility-gear detail are credited to a third source, the New York Post. None of those allegations, from any source, establishes guilt, and this article does not assert that any accused man committed any alleged act.

The places named in reporting on the complaint

Several allegedly targeted buildings are significant to Los Angeles's historical and architectural fabric, according to prosecutors as reported in coverage of the announcement. Locations named in reporting on the criminal complaint include the Cameo Theatre, the Roxie Theatre, Pershing Square, the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, and an area near Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. Previously attributes that list to reporting on the criminal complaint, as summarized in the District Attorney's announcement coverage and MyNewsLA. The Cameo and Roxie are part of downtown's historic Broadway theatre corridor, which is one reason the alleged damage has drawn attention beyond a routine vandalism case: prosecutors are alleging harm not only to private property, but to buildings and public spaces that form part of the city's shared architectural record.

District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said, in the District Attorney's announcement, that the alleged motive was money and social media attention rather than artistic expression, in paraphrase of his statement in that announcement. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in the same District Attorney's announcement, in paraphrase, that the alleged vandalism struck businesses, property owners, taxpayers and the wider community, and that it allegedly targeted iconic buildings and public spaces. Both men's remarks are statements by officials announcing charges. They are part of the prosecutors' public case presentation, not findings by a court, and the accused men will have the opportunity to respond through the court process.

What is known, and what is not yet answered

An LADWP spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment in the reporting available at the time of the announcement, according to the reporting cited in this article's sources. Previously therefore does not have, in the sources credited here, a statement from LADWP about Rocha's employment status following the charges, and this article does not speculate about any internal department action. Employment status, any plea entered at arraignment, bail or custody conditions, and any defense statements are all matters that would need to be reported from subsequent court or department statements, not inferred from the charging announcement alone.

What happens next, on the public record available now, is the October 23 arraignment date for Rocha that the District Attorney's Office and MyNewsLA reported. Court proceedings after arraignment will determine how the alleged counts against each accused man proceed, whether any counts are added, amended or dismissed, and ultimately whether prosecutors can prove any allegation beyond a reasonable doubt. Until such a proceeding occurs, the correct description of every person named in this article is accused or charged — not guilty — and the correct description of every alleged act is alleged.

For more Los Angeles and Southwest coverage, browse the Previously news index, read our Phoenix business story on D.R. Horton and Promise Robotics' planned Gilbert-area factory, or see a recent Las Vegas story, SAHARA's crypto cage launch. Previously will update this story if the District Attorney's Office, the court, LADWP or a representative for an accused man provides a substantive response or a court development changes the status of the charges.