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WEST VALLEY CITY — Two dozen criminal charges were filed Thursday against five alleged graffiti "taggers" who police say have caused more than $47,000 in damage in Salt Lake County since 2013.
The charges were due mainly to the efforts of the West Valley Police Department's Community Response Unit. Their goal is to target graffiti "artists" who try to gain recognition by painting their moniker as often as they can.
"It is one of the No. 1 property crimes that we have. Graffiti is a huge issue. It's costing people thousands of dollars to clean up. They're not just targeting walls. They're going after some buildings that have historic value," said West Valley police detective Mike Lynes who was the lead investigator in the case filed Thursday and received help from the Salt Lake Metro Gang Unit.
Cameron Arthur Mason, 20, of Draper, the main target of the investigation, was charged in 3rd District Court with 23 counts of graffiti ranging from second-degree felonies to class B misdemeanors, and one count of trespassing, a class B misdemeanor.
Sarah Jean Tucker, 23 of Murray, was charged with two counts of graffiti, a second-degree felony and class B misdemeanor. She was also charged in December with 10 counts of graffiti, both misdemeanors and felonies. Her next court hearing for that case is scheduled for Sept. 14.
Dakota Edward Stoneking, 20, of Salt Lake City, was charged with graffiti, a class A misdemeanor. He was charged with felony graffiti violations in 2013 and convicted on two counts, both third-degree felonies, in July. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 31.
Corey Ashton Rodriguez, 20, of Murray, and Kubasa Tsan Bakenra, 21, of Salt Lake City, were each charged with two counts of graffiti, a class A misdemeanor.
Mason was originally the main target of a police investigation, according to the charging documents. Prosecutors say Mason, who used the moniker "Parol," spray painted his moniker throughout West Valley City and the county at various locations including:
• The I-15 overpass at 3500 South on May 4. It covered approximately 119 square feet and cost $7,735 to clean.
• On the roof of a building near 16 Exchange Place on July 30, 2014. The moniker was painted with a roller at that location, according to the charges. Decorative antique brickwork was tagged and cleanup was estimated to cost more than $10,000.
It is one of the No. 1 property crimes that we have. Graffiti is a huge issue. It's costing people thousands of dollars to clean up. They're not just targeting walls. They're going after some buildings that have historic value.
–WVCPD detective Mike Lynes
Lynes said the total cost of cleaning that building could exceed $25,000.
• An industrial building at 5510 S. Cottonwood St. on March 12, 2014, where numerous "Parol" monikers were found. Due to the age and historical value of the property, cleanup was estimate at more than $15,000.
With some of the historical buildings that were tagged, cleanup companies require a $10,000 deposit before having to get a permit from the city to work on the structure, Lynes said. And sometimes the crews are only allowed to work at night, he said.
Lynes admitted that while Mason was talented with his artwork, "Unfortunately he's doing it on other people's property."
Police have identified more than 150 graffiti artists locally and several groups.
While investigating Mason, detectives found other monikers that had been painted including "Haras," "Safer," "Ease," "Souer," "Envrs," "Reptar" and "TVK" and "AWS" which detectives believe are identifiers of the graffiti crews that the taggers belong to, the charges state.
Detectives believe "Ease" and "Reptar" are Rodriguez, "Safer" is Stoneking, Tucker is "Haras," and Bakenra is "Envrs."
Mason also commonly tagged "313" next to his graffiti, the charges state, which is the area code for Detroit where Mason was born.
Because the statute of limitation for felony graffiti offenses is four years, Lynes said his unit is undertaking the slow process of researching all past graffiti cases from different departments in order to file big cases like the one on Thursday rather than small individual cases.
