Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man with second-degree malicious mischief after he allegedly drew obscene pictures and a threat against a police officer on a Gig Harbor park bathroom.
William Brian Stopoulos identified himself as a gang member when he was arrested Friday. Authorities note he was arrested on suspicion of robbery three years ago and threatened to kill the arresting Gig Harbor police officers.
Maintenance workers found the vandalism Friday and called police, who discovered an empty whiskey bottle and graffiti on every bathroom wall. The sketches included a stick figure being shot in the head with an officer’s name scrawled beneath it.
Damage was estimated at $1,000.
According to charging documents:
Police questioned Stopoulos, who was sleeping in an outdoor eating area of a nearby restaurant. He told officers there was paint on his hands because he liked to draw and said he had a protection order against the officer who was threatened in the drawing on the bathroom wall.
Stopoulos denied drawing on the park bathroom, but police searched his bag and found a clipboard with the same words and drawings found on the bathroom walls.
He also admitted he had been at the park around the time the vandalism occurred.
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