King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion announced felony charges against 17 individuals accused of vandalizing Seattle properties with graffiti. The charges stem from a multi-year investigation by Seattle Police, the King County Sheriff's Office, and the Washington State Patrol.
Prosecutors announced felony charges against more than a dozen people accused of vandalizing public and private property with graffiti in Seattle . King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said the cases show 'clear accountability' for vandals who cause damage through tagging. 'There is a clear distinction between art and the type of graffiti we are talking about today,' Manion said. “Dangling above a freeway to tag traffic signs is not art.
Tagging metro buses and sound transit cars is not art.” The roughly three dozen felony charges involve 17 defendants, some of whom are tied to graffiti tagging crews that have targeted Seattle. The city of Seattle spends $6 million a year on graffiti abatement, a figure that does not include private efforts from property owners, small businesses, neighborhood advocacy groups, and the state of Washington.“To get to those people who are damaging our public property, you have to hold them accountable and arrest them and say ‘this is not acceptable,'' said Tom Graff, the chair of Belltown United. Graff said small business owners in Belltown are often stuck paying to clean up unwanted graffiti tags over and over.Defendants charged in graffiti cases by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office:Sophia Claire Tye-Rosenstiel, 28, of Seattle (August 5)Montrell Shawn Clifton, 32, of SeattleDylan Blue, 18, SeattleMichael V. Matugas, 35, of SeattleJoe Romero Zapien, 28, of Tacoma For more than a year, investigators with Seattle Police, the King County Sheriff's Office, and the Washington State Patrol have built cases against graffiti taggers who they allege are responsible for much of the damage across the city., who was convicted of felony charges related to his tagging of the word 'Eager' across Seattle. He was ordered to complete 80- hours of graffiti abatement. Court filings show a warrant has since been issued for his arres
GRAFFITI VANDALISM SEATTLE CRIMINAL CHARGES LAW ENFORCEMENT
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