SEATTLE — Today, over a dozen people faced a Seattle judge after being arrested for felony-level graffiti charges.
Prosecutors say this group caused around $100,000 worth of damage across King County.
King County Judge Ronald Kessler pushed through the long docket of arrested graffiti artists today. Sixteen people were set to filter through his courtroom, with a total of 30 felony counts between them.
All sixteen are facing criminal mischief charges, and three are also charged with burglary.
The state says these are not charges to be taken lightly, as the tagging carries a lofty price.
“Graffiti has been a scourge in our community. It has cost millions of dollars of damage in King County,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa.
The judge released each of them on condition that they commit no new violations and appear at all future court dates.
There have been at least 28,000 graffiti sites reported this year, according to the state.
“We need to say that this is costing all a lot of taxpayer dollars. It causes a lot of damage when we are doing the clean up and it is not what we want as a society,” said Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison.
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