Charges filed in Merced war memorial vandalism case

Merced prosecutors on Wednesday filed felony charges against the man accused of vandalizing the Merced County War Memorial in Courthouse Park earlier this month.

Gerardo Ybarra Valencia, 45, faces felony counts of vandalism and making criminal threats, as well as a misdemeanor count of brandishing a deadly weapon, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office confirmed.

Valencia is accused of spraying black graffiti on the World War II side of the memorial Jan. 9. He was arrested Friday by detectives with the Merced County Sheriff’s Department in the 300 block of East 15th Street in Merced.

The motive for the vandalism remains unclear.

Steve Slocum, supervising deputy district attorney, formally filed the charges against Valencia on Wednesday in Merced Superior Court.

If convicted, Valencia could face up to four years eight months behind bars, Slocum confirmed.

According to prosecutors, Valencia was spraying the memorial with paint when he was confronted by 26-year-old Shawn Vargas. Words were exchanged and Valencia then pulled a knife and threatened to kill Vargas, prosecutors say. Valencia swung the knife at Vargas’ pet pit bull, but no one was injured, according to prosecutors.

Volunteers tried to remove the graffiti from the memorial the following morning, but dark stains remain. County officials are still looking into options to repair the memorial; professionals have estimated the replacement cost at about $12,000 if the damage can’t be repaired.

Detective Sgt. Chuck Hale praised the work of Detective Kao Ly, the lead investigator in the case. Hale said information provided to deputies from members of the general public was also critical to tracking down a suspect in the case.

“Detective Ly really did some great work on the case that led directly to the capture of Mr. Valencia,” Hale said Wednesday.

Hale said Valencia has “been very cooperative with investigators,” but declined to elaborate to protect the pending criminal case at the Merced courthouse.

Valencia remains in custody at John Latorraca Correctional Facility on $50,000 bail, according to booking records.

This story was originally published January 21, 2015 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Charges filed in Merced war memorial vandalism case."