Cops Chase Vandal, Find Suspect In Car's Trunk In Scarsdale

SCARSDALE, NY — A Bronx man accused of drawing graffiti on a fence along the Hutchinson Parkway Sunday attempted to elude Westchester County officers by running back and forth across the highway, police said.

Police received a report at 4 p.m. that a man was spray-painting graffiti on a wooden fence next to the southbound lanes of the Hutchinson River Parkway, north of Weaver Street.

A patrol officer located him but the suspect fled, police said. The man ran all the way across the parkway and into the woods next to the northbound lanes, losing both of his sneakers in the process.

As other officers began a search, passing motorists reported that a man without shoes had just run across the parkway to the southbound shoulder. The man entered the woods on that side.

Officers from the county police and Scarsdale Police Department canvassed the area for the suspect. The Aviation Unit helicopter, which was airborne at the time, also responded to assist in the search.

County officers located a vehicle parked on Stratton Road, not far from the scene of the graffiti, and found a man hiding in the trunk.

Five cans of spray paint were recovered at the scene of the graffiti and 13 similar cans were found in the trunk of the suspect’s car, police alleged.

The vehicle, a 2016 Dodge Challenger, was impounded.

Gabriel Vasquez, 26, of Schieffelin Avenue, Bronx, was charged with Making Graffiti and Possession of Graffiti Instruments, misdemeanors. He was booked at County Police headquarters in Hawthorne and released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in Scarsdale Village Court on Aug. 12.