The homeless man responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in damage to beach bathrooms escaped prosecution for the crime earlier this year and has returned to Santa Monica where he again forced the closure of the restroom facility.
Jairo Navarette was first arrested for felony vandalism in May of this year. At that time he was estimated to have caused $10,000 in damages in a single month by flushing trash and other debris down the toilets at the public restrooms. Officials said they were working to connect Navarette to additional vandalism incidents and the investigation was ongoing.
However, Navarette was returned to the community without charges.
In September, Navarette was seen by residents vandalising the same bathrooms. Witnesses called police who detained but did not arrest Navarette. SMPD said officers cannot arrest suspects without evidence of a crime, either from their direct observations or through an investigation. In this case, officers are not equipped to analyze the plumbing of the bathrooms to determine damage and the Public Works Department did not report evidence of a crime back to the Police Department.
“As with any reported vandalism, this case remains under investigation,” said SMPD in a statement. “SMPD is working with City partners to evaluate evidence, and any additional findings will be pursued as part of the ongoing case review.”
The bathrooms were closed for several days following the incident. As of this week, the most recent incident remains under investigation and Navarette is not in custody.
editor@smdp.com