Teen charged with sports complex graffiti
Tells police officers 'they had nothing else to do'

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

An aerosol can blows past a wall filled with graffiti on Tuesday afternoon in a wash on Wilson Avenue in Gallup. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

GALLUP — A 19-year-old recent Central High School graduate will face misdemeanor property damage charges for allegedly spraying graffiti on equipment at the city of Gallup Sports Complex.

Ryan Lonetree was served with a summons to appear in municipal court after he allegedly confessed to spraying graffiti on the sports complex building, 925 Park Ave., and its electrical boxes, Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department, said. Private vehicles, including a bus and a cargo trailer, were also targeted during the string of vandalism May 18.

Toadlena-Pablo said police officers later interviewed a group of teenagers who were riding in a vehicle that had markings painted on it that matched those illegally painted on the sports complex. The teenagers denied involvement in the vandalism, but said their friend and a relative defaced the property.

Investigators later found the relative who was identified as Lonetree. Lonetree told police he and his friend sprayed the area with graffiti because "they had nothing else to do," Toadlena-Pablo said. Lonetree apologized for his actions and told police this was the first time he participated in an act of vandalism.

Lonetree reportedly refused to give police the name of his friend who was allegedly involved in the incident, but said he was from Albuquerque. The graffiti included Lonetree's initials "RL," authorities said.

Lonetree is slated to appear in municipal court in early June.