Some of the Puebloan petroglyphs at the La Cieneguilla site southwest of Santa Fe date back 8,000 years. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday detained a man suspected of spray painting the petroglyphs. (Courtesy Bureau of Land Management)
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday detained a man suspected of spray painting the La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs near Santa Fe.
The US Bureau of Land Management oversees the site.
According to a BLM news release, on Wednesday afternoon, an area resident alerted the Sheriff’s Office that a man was vandalizing a petroglyph panel.
Deputies arrived on scene and detained the suspect for questioning.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza commended the deputies’ work to protect the culturally-significant sites.
Some petroglyphs at La Cieneguilla date back 8,000 years.
“Deputies’ prompt response afforded them the ability and advantage to encounter the suspect who admitted to the vandalism,” Mendoza said in a statement. “This joint law enforcement effort with the BLM provides the ability to bring federal felony charges against the vandal.”
The BLM said it doesn’t know yet if this week’s vandalism is connected to other incidents in the past two years. In January, several petroglyph panels were defaced with graffiti of swastikas and human anatomy.
The pueblo petroglyphs were also defaced at least twice last year.
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