Boyes Hot Springs vandal nabbed by Sonoma police

No sooner did Springs residents seem to endorse artist Rico Martin’s colorful paint designs on several businesses along Highway 12 than graffiti began showing up defacing the neighborhood.

The words “Hope” and “Karma” used in the spray-painted tags only made their appearance worse. Several locals even wondered aloud (well, on Facebook anyway) if the tagger were the same person as who shot off multiple fireworks over the weekend.

On Monday, Sonoma Police Chief Brett Sackett announced the arrest of Angelo Fischetti, 23, on suspicion on making threats, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and a probation violation.

After his arrest, deputies searched his house and found property with graffiti tags on it and spray cans with nozzles used in graffiti vandalism. The evidence was consistent with the tagging found at several locations in the city of Sonoma and around the Sonoma Valley, including in Boyes Hot Springs, Sackett said.

On Wednesday, Fischetti admitted to an interviewing officer that he painted the graffiti tags at several locations around the Valley.

Eight cases were referred to the District Attorney’s Office for the possible filing of charges, Sackett said. A majority of the graffiti was removed by the sheriff’s abatement unit.

Which didn’t stop Facebook posters from suggesting if he liked painting so much, maybe Rico Martin should hire him.