6/24/2024
Bend, OR. – Official Release: Beginning in February 2024, Bend Police began receiving complaints and taking notice of multiple XUKA graffiti tags throughout the City of Bend, on businesses, street signs and other surfaces. Police officers and Community Service Officers began documenting the tags and investigating who might be responsible for them. Over the course of five months, Bend Police personnel identified dozens of tags that could be attributed to XUKA, including one on Bend City Hall.
The graffiti caused thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to property owned by public agencies and private businesses.
In June, Bend Police collected evidence at the scene of a fresh XUKA tag. That evidence helped officers identify 22-year-old Bend resident Kalden James Gilbert as the suspect responsible for the prolific tagging throughout the city.
Bend Police applied for and were granted a search warrant for Gilbert’s car and apartment in the 63100 block of Britta Street.
At approximately 7 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, Bend Police executed the search warrant. Evidence of Gilbert’s crimes, including an extensive collection of spray paint, was found in Gilbert’s apartment and car.
Gilbert was arrested on suspicion of 50 counts of second-degree criminal mischief and two counts of first-degree criminal mischief. He was lodged at the Deschutes County Jail. Additional charges may be forthcoming.
If your property has been tagged with a XUKA tag and you have not yet reported it, please contact the Bend Police Department through nonemergency dispatch at 541-693-6911 and reference Case #2024-00018483. Examples of the tags are attached to this press release.
Tagging and graffiti are property damage. The defacing of property causes unnecessary expense for businesses and local government, and the Bend Police Department takes these sorts of crimes seriously and will continue to investigate those who deface property in our community.
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