Archive for the ‘Nevada Graffiti’ Category

Mayor on graffiti vandals: Off with their heads

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Off with their heads: That’s what Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is saying after vandals leave their mark on one of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Tuesday, clean-up crews were out at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign trying to remove graffiti.

But as News 3′s Denise Rosch explains, it’s not as easy as originally hoped.

It’s hard to put a price tag on exposure after millions of people have stopped for a picture at our city’s favorite sign. But this week, there’s a little something in the way: graffiti.

And it’s a topic that has our mayor seeing red.

“I’m disappointed. I’m angry. I’m tired of it, I really am,” says Mayor Oscar Goodman. “I think the perpetrator of this might think it’s a joke. I don’t think it’s a joke.”

Tuesday, clean-up crews were out taking care of the problem after the scribbled letters first showed up Sunday night. They appear to be someone’s initials, maybe, painted on for the world to see.

Now, a reward is being offered and the mayor is hoping for a public punishment.

“Well, I’ve said cut off their head. That’s good for openers,” Goodman continues. “But the truth of the matter is I’d like to see a stockade downtown. Put this jerk’s head in it and let everybody put a little bit of paint on the nose.”

When it comes to clean up, it will take more than a soapy rag and water; the sign is old and the paint has seeped in. Crews say it will be quite a process.

“We have a bleaching agent we use. With the sun and heat, after about three days, it should bleach (the paint) out,” says Mike Kightlinger, American Graffiti.

But this leaves many wondering how a repeat performance can be stopped. According to County Public Works, talk of surveillance cameras is simply a rumor.

And Goodman is no fan either.

“I don’t want to live in a penned society with fences around me, cameras in my face.”

Meaning, it could be left up to our visitors to police themselves and decide whether a snapshot of graffiti is the souvenir they want from Las Vegas.

The exact cost of the clean-up is still being tallied, but graffiti removal on public and private property costs taxpayers about $30 million per year in Clark County.

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Posted in Dumb Shit, Graffiti News, Nevada Graffiti, New Graffiti Ideas, Politics | No Comments »

man sentenced to a year in jail for….

Saturday, March 14th, 2009

A man sentenced to a year in jail for the 2005 graffiti vandalism of the downtown Reno branch of the Washoe County Library, two county-owned vehicles and nearby buildings that caused $5,000 in damage has been sentenced on graffiti charges related to an October incident, the Reno Police Department reports.Brandon Christopher Williams of Reno, who has been the suspect in a number of graffiti vandalism incidents, was sentenced on March 3 in Reno Justice Court to one year probation, to run concurrent with his existing probation and was given a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service for a charge related to the October vandalism of a delivery truck owned by a South Wells Avenue business.

The Regional Gang Unit arrested Williams.

Reno police aid graffiti has a significant negative impact on the quality of life for residents of any community as well as negative business impacts by contributing to blight, fear and confirm it can also lead to other criminal activity, and treats graffiti vandalism as a crime, not a prank.

The goals for its anti-graffiti efforts are to prevent the crime of graffiti vandalism and to aggressively pursue and prosecute offenders. The Reno Police Department’s plan calls for: Abatement of graffiti-vandalism within at least 48 hours by employing graffiti vandalism abatement vehicles and personnel seven days a week to paint out graffiti so vandals are deprived of peer notoriety for the vandalism; a streamlined graffiti vandalism reporting system; and extensive case investigation and follow-up.

The Secret Witness program at 333-4444 offers rewards for information from the public leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the crime of graffiti vandalism.

Reno residents can also help fight graffiti vandalism by simply reporting it when they see it. Call the city of Reno’s call center, RenoDirect at 111-2222 to give the location of the graffiti and the graffiti abatement team will respond.

Posted in Graffiti News, Jail Time, Nevada Graffiti, Pig Enforcement, Street Bombing, Who Got Bagged? | No Comments »

Fear And Loafing: American Graffiti Remover

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Our reporter gets the message as he dangles high above the pavement never thought of a closed freeway offramp as someplace I’d want to be standing at 2 a.m. on a Sunday — until I tried teetering 30 feet over it, on a 2-foot-wide catwalk in 20 mph winds.

Today I’m the newest and scaredest member of the Nevada Department of Transportation’s graffiti abatement crew, a five-man outfit charged with de-tagging all state roadway structures in Las Vegas.

There is no guardrail around the Interstate 15 southbound Sahara Avenue sign, by the way; nothing whatsoever to grab hold of except the sign itself. (And you can’t. I tried.)

“You’ll be fine,” says Vincent Ruiz, the 230-pound graffiti remover to my left, whose every footstep makes the catwalk bounce like a diving board with one jump already taken.

Our harnesses are clipped to the bottom of the catwalk, so we probably wouldn’t die from a fall. I’m guessing that the midair stop wouldn’t be much fun, however — considering how the harness attaches to certain lower body regions.

“Yeah, but it would make a great photo,” says Review-Journal photographer Louie Traub.

Walls and bridges are spray-painted their original colors, signs scrubbed with solvents. The workers wear Flying Elvi-like white jumpsuits and goggles to protect themselves from exposure.

[Read More]

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Posted in Graffiti Cleanups, Nevada Graffiti | No Comments »

Graffiti Vandals Caught After Two-Year Tagging Spree

Friday, April 25th, 2008

The crimes happen in seconds, but what is left behind can last for years. Two graffiti vandals are in custody after police say they went on a two year spree of tagging. Just two examples of why Nevada tax payers shell out $30 million a year to clean up the mess.

A sign outside a new elementary school shows happy kids saying, “Thank you for building our school.” But under the cover of darkness, two people took a cheap can of spray paint and did tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

“It is estimated that the damage done to the buildings there at the school that’s under construction is between $40,000 and $50,000,” said Officer Jose Montoya Metro.

Nothing was off limits. The front door to the school, poles and entire walls became a canvass board. It’s not a pretty picture.

Two young brothers confessed to police that they’ve been at this for two years.

“One of them is 12 and one of them is 14. You rewind back two years, put them at 10 and 12 years of age and this is something that certainly catches our attention,” said Montoya.

Metro tracked the vandals following their own graffiti tags. From the spray paint, the two juvenile suspects emerged. Their names aren’t being released, nor do we know where the parents were for the two years while the boys left graffiti across several neighborhoods.

“There’s a good chance that the parents may be held accountable for this type of damage because of their juvenile status,” said Montoya.

Tagging is a huge problem is this area.

“Only takes like ten seconds, go over there, they’re gone,” said student Robert Leyva. “It’s stupid. It’s not even worth going to jail for some paint.”

But after their two-year crime spree, two brothers are in jail. Police hope more parents will see the writing on the wall.

“It starts at home. We need to be responsible for our children. We need to know who they’re hanging out with. We need to know what they’re doing,” said Montoya.

We’re told the kids face several misdemeanor counts and a felony because the damage was so costly.

Metro says if you actually see someone placing graffiti, call 911. They say don’t approach the vandal because many are violent and carry weapons.

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Posted in Graffiti News, Nevada Graffiti, Pig Enforcement, Street Bombing, Who Got Bagged?, Who's Up? | No Comments »

Anyone need a graffiti cleanup kit?

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

Graffiti cleanup kits are being made available to Reno residents to help erase and combat graffiti vandalism.The kits are available at the Reno Police Department at 455 East Second Street, and Reno Police Department field offices at the following locations during regular business hours:

· North field office, 10555 Stead Boulevard in Stead.

· Central field office, 199 East Plaza at the Bowling Stadium downtown.

· South field office, 3905 Neil Road.

The kits are sponsored through donations from Reno Paint Mart and were assembled recently by about a dozen juveniles and adults at the Jan Evans Juvenile Detention Facility. The kits are in self-contained cans and include T.S.W. Graphite Remover, goggles, a cleaning pad, gloves and instructions to help cleanup most graffiti vandalism.

Reno residents can help fight graffiti vandalism by simply reporting it when they see it. A call to the City of Reno’s call center, RenoDirect at 334-INFO, giving the location of the graffiti vandalism will result in abatement by the Reno Police Department’s graffiti abatement team.

And, individuals with information about those responsible for graffiti vandalism can become eligible for cash rewards when the information they provide to Secret Witness leads to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the crime of graffiti vandalism.

The Secret Witness program offers rewards of $250.00 to $1,000.00 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the crime of graffiti. The program was developed at the urging of the Reno City Council through the Reno Police Department. Reno police officers have worked with the Secret Witness organization and community organizations and businesses to underwrite the reward program. Information on graffiti vandalism can be provided to Secret Witness by individuals on an anonymous basis by calling Secret Witness at (775) XXX-XX00.

The partnership with the Secret Witness Program is part of the Reno Police Department’s anti-graffiti strategic plan approved by the Reno City Council in 2005. The plan has four major components that include community education and engagement, enforcement and abatement activities, a communications plan and networking across boundaries. Each has numerous sub-activities designed to maximize use of existing resources and engage the community in fighting graffiti vandalism.

The crime of graffiti vandalism has a significant negative impact on the quality of life for residents, as well as negative business impacts by contributing to blight, fear and often is associated with or leads to other criminal activity.

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Posted in Graffiti Cleanups, Graffiti News, Nevada Graffiti, Pig Enforcement | No Comments »