Denton police arrested a man Tuesday evening on a graffiti charge after finding him at an apartment complex, where he was hiding in the swimming pool.

Witnesses called about 7:30 p.m. to report a man was spraying black paint on a concrete embankment at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Loop 288. Three juveniles on skateboards and bikes were watching, the witnesses said. An officer responded but was held up in heavy traffic.

He reported he could see the man and the boys. By the time he was able to get to the scene, the boys scattered and the man climbed into a nearby pickup and drove away.

The officers noted the embankment was defaced with several drawings, including a skull, pentagram and anarchy symbols, and the word “chaos.”

The officers searched nearby areas and found the pickup parked at an apartment complex. A can of black paint was in the bed of the truck, according to the police report.

The officers prepared to have the truck towed. As a tow truck was backing up to the suspect’s truck, he emerged from the swimming pool area, wet and carrying a towel. He denied involvement in the graffiti, but he was arrested and the truck was seized.

Other reports

700 block of South Interstate 35E — With help from a citizen, police caught a man who ran from them after drunkenly jumping in front of a truck early Tuesday, ac­cording to a police report.

The officer responded to a re­port from a trucker that he nearly struck a pedestrian on the interstate after the man jumped in front of him. The man was holding something in a sack, the trucker said.

The officer found the man and asked him to come over to him so they could talk. Instead, the man ran, dropping the sack, which contained a bottle of alcohol, and the officer pursued him.

They ran through a business area and across a back lot, where a worker was emptying trash, according to the report. When the fleeing suspect got to the worker, the worker stuck out his foot and tripped him.

Then he helped the officer subdue the man so he could be placed in handcuffs.

The man was charged with public intoxication, evading de­tention and littering.

2300 block of Rock Hill Road — A woman told Denton County sheriff’s deputies that someone pretending to be her posted on the “casual encounters” area of Craigslist.org.

The posting indicated that she would have sex “any time, anywhere,” according to the report.

The victim said she has re­ceived 40 telephone calls from men trying to take her up on the posting. She said she believes the culprit is a woman whose car was defaced with shoe polish who thinks the victim did it.

Roundup

From 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday:

* Denton police responded to 261 calls for service and officer-initiated calls, including one case of failure to comply with sex offender requirements, two re­ports of harassment, one de­ceased person, one report of violation of a protective order, one threat, six thefts, five cases of possession of marijuana, three cases of debit or credit card abuse, two frauds, one case of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, three cases of graffiti, one case of evading detention, one burglary of a coin-operated ma­chine, eight vehicle burglaries, one criminal mischief and four burglaries.

* Denton County sheriff’s dispatchers handled 279 calls for service and officer-initiated calls. A total of 55 people were booked into county jail. Deputies took reports of one missing person, one assault, two cases of harassment, one aggravated sexual assault, three threats, one unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, two cases of criminal mischief, one recovered stolen vehicle and one fraud.

* Denton firefighters responded to 11 medical calls, one downed power line, three traffic accidents, two electrical malfunctions and one false alarm.

Pilot Point firefighters responded to one request for a patient trans­fer.

Argyle firefighters responded to one alarm, one grassfire, one smoke investigation, two traffic accidents and one medical call.

Aubrey firefighters responded to one medical call.

Sanger firefighters responded to one electrical malfunction and one request to unlock a vehicle.

Double Oak firefighters re­sponded to one downed power line.

Ponder firefighters responded to one alarm.

Krum firefighters responded to one gas leak and two downed power lines.

Corinth firefighters responded to one accident.

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com .

Denton County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in these or other crimes. Callers will remain anonymous. Call 1-800-388-TIPS (8477).