Police Arrest 7 in Graffiti Spree Linked to Crash Victims’ Deaths

VAN NUYS —  Police have arrested seven people who allegedly participated in a three-day graffiti spree connected with the deaths of three youths recently killed during a police chase.

Two of the crash victims, Manuel Osorio, 18, and his brother Fernando, 16, of Arleta, were buried Saturday after funeral services at Our Lady of Peace Church in North Hills.

One of those arrested and booked on suspicion of vandalism was David Hillo, of North Hollywood, said Los Angeles Police Detective Craig Rhudy. Hillo was wounded and his friend, Cesar Rene Arce, 18, was shot to death Jan. 31 during a highly publicized confrontation over graffiti with William Andrew Masters II.

Hillo and six others were arrested Thursday night after causing $20,000 in damage during a graffiti spree, police said. The graffiti appeared near the intersection of Sherman Way and Kester Avenue in Van Nuys, and included words such as “Rest in Peace,” along with the nicknames of the Osorio brothers and the other dead youth, Rafael Camargo Dawe, 17, of Van Nuys, Rhudy said.

The three teen-agers were struck and killed Tuesday by a burglary suspect who was fleeing police officers.