Two men arrested for significant damage to Jackson Park

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department arrested two men accused of causing “significant, gang-related,” damage to Jackson Park on Friday. 

According to a news release from SLCPD, they received a call from a community member at 10:30 p.m. reporting three people inside Jackson Park using blue spray paint to graffiti the walls, ground, park signs, picnic tables, slides and even trees.

 

As officers walked into the park, they could smell fresh paint. They said they watched the three men continue their work from a short distance.  

According to the release, officers were then able to arrest 18-year-old Elijah Carter and 19-year-old Macen Loutensock. 

“When officers arrested the two,” the release explained, “they found a blue spray paint can nearby and both men had blue paint on their hands.”

Officers booked Carter and Loutensock into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail for unlawful property damage, public intoxication, and criminal trespass. Additionally, they said they charged Loutensock with unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

“Officers detained and identified a third person, a female juvenile, who was with Carter and Loutensock,” the release added. “Criminal charges against her will be screened.”

SLCPD enhanced charges against the two men to a felony level, due to the significance and scope of the damage. 

The cleanup 

Because of the extensive damage done to the park, SLCPD reached out to the Salt Lake City Parks Division on Saturday to conduct an emergency cleanup of the graffitied areas.

The release stated that officers “also conducted proactive community outreach at the park on Saturday morning as families began showing up to use the park.”

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