What started out as a routine traffic stop turned into some serious time behind bars for a Canyon Country woman last week.

At 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, a deputy pulled over a female driver who failed to stop at a stop sign at Newhall Avenue and 16th Street.. The driver seemed suspiciously nervous. A search of the woman's vehicle yielded a paint pen, a Sharpie, and some papers with the word "Karma" in what appeared to be a tagging style of writing.

 

The deputy arrested the driver, C****** B*******, 20, of Canyon Country, on suspicion of a misdemeanor possession of vandalism tools. She was transported to Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station and booked.

A detective assigned to the graffiti task force was notified of this arrest and immediately recognized that numerous tagging reports included the word "Karma" in incidents across Canyon Country. He accessed the Graffiti Tracking System and found 30 reports of "Karma" tagged on walls, signs, and bus benches on Sierra Highway and Golden Valley Road, between March 2007 and December 2008. The detective was able to confirm that B******* is the suspect in all of the "Karma" cases.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed 28 felony counts of vandalism, two counts of misdemeanor vandalism, and one count of misdemeanor possession of vandalism tools against B*******, who was arraigned on Friday. She is currently being held at Century Regional Detention Facility in lieu of $150,000 bail.