MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for a serial vandal who sprayed graffiti on a police cruiser and a McLaren sports car in Miami Beach.
Photographs showed graffiti on the right-rear door of a Miami Beach Police cruiser and on the rear bumper of a McLaren 570S on Ocean Drive.
“Complete lack of respect for society,” Sherbrooke Hotel owner Mitch Novick said. “A high-end vehicle got tagged the other night.”
Cars like the McLaren sell for over $250,000. The vehicle was recently sprayed with graffiti near 10th Street by someone leaving a marking that read, “CLEM.”
The person who drives the McLaren said the vehicle is being repainted for $6,800.
Those close to the investigation said they do not believe the vandalism to be gang-related, and instead, standard graffiti markings — or “tagging” as it’s called.
A 7News source said the vandal was caught on surveillance video tagging a piece of property along the 1400 block of Ocean Drive.
A tag is a way the person doing the spraying announces oneself, and it is like a calling card or claim to local fame.
Miami Beach Police said they caught the vandal on surveillance video near Sixth Street and Ocean Drive. They said they know what the vandal looks like, but they do not have a name or know his whereabouts.
Police have put out a flier seeking anyone with information on the vandal.
The Sherbrooke Hotel, a historic Art Deco building, also now bares the vandal’s tag.
Novick’s surveillance footage caught a brawl on Ninth Street in March, but he does not have cameras on the Collins Avenue side of the building.
“The plan is to get an entire new system with cameras around the entire perimeter,” he said.
7News has learned that the vandal has been operating from south of Fifth Street to around 17th Street throughout the past month.
If you have any information on these acts of vandalism, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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