Lesson In MySpace: Don't Post Pictures Of Crimes
(CBS) COVINA, Calif. Three teenage boys were arrested for allegedly tagging a Covina wall after police were tipped off by pictures of their graffiti posted on their Myspace pages.
Two 16-year-olds boys were arrested Tuesday, and a 17-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of felony vandalism, said Sgt. Gregg Peterson of the Covina Police Department.
The three minors are accused of tagging a wall in the 1100 block of Badillo Street over the weekend, Peterson said.
Police linked the three boys to the crime after finding pictures of the graffiti on MySpace.
"Both kids denied it, adamantly, (said) they had nothing to do with it," Covina police Officer Tim Statler said. "Then I showed them the pictures that we had printed off MySpace and they both had wide-eyed looks, mouths open, couldn't believe the cops were smart enough to look on MySpace for their handiwork."
The graffiti, which has already been painted over, caused about $1,000 damage, Peterson said.
"If you don't remove it right away, it attracts additional graffiti," Peterson said. "You have to be there to remove it."
The Covina Police Department spends $36,000 a year cleaning up graffiti, and another $60,000 investigating taggers, Peterson said.
A city code allows the police to bill the parents of taggers.
"It's still being paid for by the city. The restitution part of it is lagging behind," urban graffiti expert Juan Rainoso said. "It takes a lot of resources to go after the restitution part."
Since July 2005, more than 400 juveniles have been arrested for graffiti-related offenses in Covina.
1 votes
