ST. GEORGE — A man with an extensive criminal history from Salt Lake City to St. George is in jail on felony graffiti charges after investigators reportedly found evidence tying the suspect to more than a dozen cases of citywide tagging, authorities say.
Last week, 27-year-old Roberto Arce was arrested following a monthslong investigation by detectives in St. George tasked with following up on more than a dozen graffiti reports, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.
The majority of the graffiti was reported at an apartment complex on North Dixie Drive, where officers found numerous messages that read, “TODO, ROSE PARK, SLC116 and ZAIN,” spray-painted or drawn on walls throughout the complex. Investigators obtained information alleging that Arce was known to travel between Salt Lake City and St. George with Sharpies, spray paint, markers and a notebook he used to draw out various graffiti tags.
Arce, officers learned, used to live in Rose Park, a neighborhood located on the northwest side of Salt Lake City. Once a potential address was confirmed, a search warrant was obtained for the suspect’s residence located at an apartment complex in St. George — the same complex where a number of the graffiti reports originated over the last three months.
The unit was searched on Aug. 11, which is when officers recovered a notebook containing writings that matched several of the graffiti tags found in the area, along with spray paint cans, markers and other items from a storage room located in the patio area of the unit.
Also recovered were several plastic baggies containing suspected heroin, along with pipes and other paraphernalia-related items that tested positive for methamphetamine, the report alleges.
Following the search, officers spoke to Arce who reportedly admitted that several of the graffiti tags were his, and said that “TODO” in Spanish means “all or everything,” and that “Rose Park” represented the area he grew up.
According to the report, the suspect initially denied creating one of the tags, eventually telling officers that an adolescent family member accompanied him during one instance and left the tag in the area. He admitted to heroin use, and explained he only used the substance when fentanyl was not available, the officer noted in the report.
A background check revealed three active warrants issued out of 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City that had a total bond amount of more than $50,000.
One of the warrants was issued in a case filed in October of 2022, when a patrol officer in a Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City spotted a stolen Toyota Sienna minivan that was stopped and the driver detained at gunpoint.
The suspect told officers he got the van from a friend named “Paco,” but did not know the man’s name, and said he had been driving the van for about two days, evading an earlier encounter with police.
Arce was transported and booked into jail in Salt Lake County on second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property. The following year, Arce entered into a plea and abeyance. The warrant was issued at the end of June when the defendant failed to appear for a hearing.
In another case, Arce was arrested after fleeing from police when he was spotted with a second man reportedly taking a scooter from one yard to another by lifting it over the fence. He allegedly ran when an officer approached, but the chase was thwarted when he suspect slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk in Salt Lake City.
When asked, the suspect said he ran from the officer “to keep from being arrested.”
In that case, Arce was searched and officers recovered more than 100 fentanyl pills and methamphetamine that were reportedly packaged for sale. He was booked into jail and charged with felony drug distribution and a warrant was issued for his arrest in June.
Following the arrest in St. George on Sunday, the officer noted that based on the totality of the evidence and circumstances surrounding the investigation, Arce was booked into jail facing one second-degree felony count of graffiti, due to total damages exceeding $5,000. He was also booked on three misdemeanor drug charges, as well as the active warrants.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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