Portland's streets became the backdrop for a police chase on Thursday morning when officers pursued a graffiti tagger, later identified as Aiden A. Rivero of Beaverton, Oregon. According to the Portland Police Bureau, the 18-year-old was caught in the act of a "bombing run," a term used to describe the act of tagging multiple surfaces in rapid succession along Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard.
Authorities were alerted of the vandalism at 6:32 a.m. and promptly located Rivero near Southeast Madison Street and Southeast 6th Avenue. Attempting to flee from law enforcement, Rivero was arrested after a brief foot pursuit, culminating near Southeast Salmon Street and Southeast Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. He was found in possession of various graffiti tools, including spray cans and paint markers, which were confiscated as evidence.
The Multnomah County Detention Center now houses Rivero, following charges of Criminal Mischief in the First Degree and Escape in the Third Degree. His tags, amongst them one on a TriMet bus shelter, are part of an investigation by the Central Precinct Neighborhood Response Team (NRT), looking into at least 20 additional tags possibly linked to "GEM," Rivero's tagger alias, as per the Portland Police Bureau.
