Monday, June 9, 2008

Northeast taggers caught on tape

A battery of video cameras mounted on stores in the 5900 block of St. John Avenue has captured the images of two men spraying graffiti.

Videotapes show the men walking past Leon's Super Market and Leon's Truck Accessories at approximately 1:45 a.m. Tuesday, May 20. The men then tagged a meat truck and the walls of both the super market and truck-parts store. One man is beefy and seems to have a shaved head. The other is more slight in build.

Officer Shannon Hansen, who is investigating the case, says the police department will enlarge the images with the hope of getting pictures good enough to release. Hansen asked those attending Indian Mound's meeting on June 7 to keep an eye out for the men, who are suspected of repeatedly tagging several stores on St. John east of Hardesty.

"I'd say these guys are in their late teens or early twenties," Hansen said. "The video has to be blown up to get a good look at their faces, but it shows how they are built. We think they are white or Hispanic."

One of the taggers uses the word "Cricket" in his graffiti.

Kim Do, who operates a hair salon just west of Leon's store, says one wall of her building has been tagged repeatedly.

"I'd say six times since November," she says. "But I just keep going back and painting it out."

— Dennis Stack
Special to The Northeast News