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SALT LAKE CITY -- A wanted tagger is back in Utah and behind bars. After he was picked up in California, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office had 20-year-old Nicholas Barclay brought to Utah to face charges.
Barclay arrived at Salt Lake International Airport just after 6:00 Monday evening. He walked through the airport in street clothes and handcuffs, escorted by deputies from the Salt Lake County Metro Gang Unit.
"The Metro Gang Unit is actively involved in investigating graffiti cases, not just gang graffiti," said Lt. Don Hutson, spokesman for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Barclay had a warrant out for his arrest and was picked up days ago in San Francisco.
According to charging documents in a case out of Salt Lake City, on April 8, Barclay and three teenagers banged on a door near 200 East and 1700 South and tried to get in, saying they wanted to talk to someone inside. But when they were told to leave, they spray-painted violent images on the house.
"Looked like blood splatter coming out of the side of the head, I guess," neighbor Mike Schacht told us.
The Utah Highway Patrol says they also want to talk to Barclay. He's a person of interest in a graffiti incident near the mouth of Parley's Canyon on March 1. Taggers covered highway signs, confusing drivers.
Salt Lake County authorities say Barclay may be involved in several of their graffiti cases as well. "It's important to bring those people to justice. And graffiti here in the valley, we're taking it very seriously as law enforcement officers," Hutson said.
We talked to Barclay's sister over the phone tonight. She says her brother is being framed and that he does not do graffiti. She's talking to attorneys to get to the bottom of it.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
