BART Police on Thursday confirmed the recent arrest of a vandalism suspect who caused more than half a million dollars in damage by allegedly destroying the new glass canopies at the entrances to the San Francisco Market Street station.
Since the beginning of this month, 29 large glass panels have been damaged at the entrances to the Embarcadero, Montgomery and Powell Street stations, BART officials said. Many of the destroyed panels were part of new canopies being built over the station entrances in downtown San Francisco.
According to the statement from BART police, the vandalism targeted three stations in downtown San Francisco. San Francisco resident Saqueo Delcidmontenegro, 28, was spotted aboard a BART train Tuesday evening by a BART Police Transit ambassador, who recognized him from an informational flyer.
Officers were called to the train and Delcidmontenegro was taken into custody and booked into the San Francisco County Jail on five counts of misdemeanor vandalism.
The canopies are required by state law to protect new outdoor escalators being installed at BART stations in downtown San Francisco.
The new station entrances are a critical part of BART’s efforts to improve the daily passenger experience. The total cost to replace all damaged panels is estimated at more than $500,000.
