Man plasters graffiti on 800-year-old NM petroglyphs, but avoids prison time, feds say
A man defaced ancient petroglyphs in New Mexico — but his good intentions behind the act helped him avoid prison time, federal officials say.
His plea agreement notes that he “did not participate in or have any connection to a previous vandalism incident at the same site,” the New Mexico’s U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a Feb. 27 news release.
“Rather, (his) graffiti was an attempt to balance out that graffiti with his own less-offensive spray-painted vandalism,” officials said in the release.
The man “drove to the La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Area near Santa Fe, New Mexico, and spray–painted several areas of the rocks near and around the petroglyphs,” officials said.
A photo from what looks like a surveillance camera shows him facing the petroglyph while holding a can of spray paint.
The drawings date back 800 years, as early as the 13th century through the 17th century, and “have significant cultural meaning to the Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos,” officials said.
He was sentenced to six months of probation and must pay $1,996.44 in restitution. He also must complete 98 hours of community service, with 48 of those hours going to the Bureau of Land Management and the other 50 benefiting public lands and cultural conservation, officials said.
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Man plasters graffiti on 800-year-old NM petroglyphs, but avoids prison time, feds say."
