SEATTLE — Prosecutors announced felony charges against more than a dozen people who are 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.
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“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.
“It is unacceptable and it has to stop,” he said.
Defendants charged in graffiti cases by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office:
- Cameron Scott Oneill, 28, of Federal Way
- Kyle Andrew McLaughlin, 40, of Bellingham
- Sophia Claire Tye-Rosenstiel, 28, of Seattle (August 5)
- Casey Cain, 38, of Seattle
- Celeste Loudon, 24, of Seattle
- Campbell Long, 26, of Seattle
- Montrell Shawn Clifton, 32, of Seattle
- Simon Constantine Aristides, 18, of Seattle
- Aaron Wade Lind, 37, of Bellingham
- Dylan Blue, 18, Seattle
- Mitchell Ellero-Brooks, 23, of Federal Way
- Nicholas Kuehlwein, 31, of Tacoma
- Michael V. Matugas, 35, of Seattle
- Jose Gabriel Betancourth, 39, of Yakima
- Andrew Vaughn, 23, of Bellevue
- Joe 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.
KOMO News reported earlier this year on the case of Casey Cain, 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 arrest.
“Multiple defendants are being charged with Malicious Mischief in the First Degree, which is a felony,” a statement from Manion’s office said. “Some are charged with the Malicious Mischief in the Second Degree, which is also a felony. The type of crime depends on damage amounts, state law, the admissible evidence, and what prosecutors believe can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court. Two defendants are also charged with Burglary in the Second Degree, alleged to have committed those crimes during the graffiti incidents that are charged as Malicious Mischief in the First Degree. Burglary is a felony.”
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Manion said her office is seeking to hold the defendants financially responsible for the damage.
“It is not the jail time and the incarceration that we think will make a difference, it is having to pay for the damage they have caused, which is why we are seeking restitution,” she said.
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