Alleged Cat Tagger Charged

Alhambra - An Alhambra man who allegedly caused $15,000 in tagging damage by painting cat faces along freeways in the downtown Los Angeles area was charged today with six felony vandalism counts.

Rick "Atlas" Ordonez, 33, pleaded not guilty at his late-afternoon arraignment at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ray G. Jurado ordered Ordonez to remain jailed on $50,000 bail, despite a defense request that he be released on his own recognizance.

Ordonez was arrested about 7 a.m. Wednesday at his home in the 200 block of Elm Street and booked for felony vandalism, said sheriff's Lt. Erik Ruble of the Transit Services Bureau, which polices Metro buses and trains.

The criminal complaint alleges that Ordonez tagged a freeway sign and bridge in Monterey Park, the side of a bridge overpass on the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, freeway underpasses on the Hollywood (101) and Harbor (110) freeways and a freeway support structure on the 101 Freeway.

The California Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are listed as victims in the criminal complaint.

Ordonez is scheduled to make his next court appearance July 12.

If convicted, he faces a possible maximum state prison term of six years and four months, along with suspension of his California driver's license, according to the District Attorney's Office.