Methinks a genius grant is not in Luis Enrique Rodriguez's future. The Anaheim 18-year-old liked a photo of himself on the Huntington Beach Police Department's Facebook page of suspected vandals sought in the July 28 riots. Then he shared the image with friends. Then people left comments on the police Facebook page saying they knew him. Then cops showed up at his front door.
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Rodriguez was arrested on suspicion of vandalism Friday by Anaheim officers serving a warrant that had been issued by cops in Surf City, according to that same Facebook page that carried his photo from the downtown melee zone after the U.S. Open of Surfing ended.
“[O]ur investigation showed him writing 'f*ck the pigs' on the sides of police cars at the scene,” reads the accompanying text. “Mr. Rodriguez, apparently proud of his actions, 'liked' the Huntington Beach Police Department's picture #15 and shared it with his friends, which was noticed by numerous fans of our Facebook page and a series of tips leading to his identification.”
The department announced two other recent arrests. A 17-year-old West Covina boy was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony vandalism, inciting a riot and refusing to disperse when ordered for allegedly damaging portable toilets and attempting to tip over a public works truck. He was released to his parents.
On Aug. 11, Anthony Abadier, 20, of Huntington Beach, was arrested at his home for alleged felony vandalism, participating in an unlawful assembly and refusing to disperse when ordered. He is accused of using his skateboard to smash newspaper stands.
Police say they are still working with those images on Facebook and tips rolling in there and elsewhere to locate other suspects.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.