Tagger could be sentenced to 6.5 years

Here's another example of the so called "freedom" that exists in America, or as I would like to call it, the police state.

He's called the worst graffiti vandal in Phoenix, and he's finally been arrested, accused of tagging more than 300 sites in Phoenix.

27-year-old Joel Delgado has been indicted on one count of criminal damage and one count of aggravated criminal damage, for more than 300 graffiti sites over 20 months.

Delgado was tracked and investigated using new technology that allowed authorities to observe all the places he tagged, which provided clues leading to his arrest.

Delgado confessed to the graffiti. He allegedly said, "I get a rush out of it and I can't stop. This is like a problem for me. Seriously a problem. I'm 27 years old. I'm going to be 30 years old, I'm like what am I doing? Writing on walls? Hopefully I end up in prison for it."

He faces up to 6.25 years in prison. Phoenix Neighborhood Services spent about $20,000 cleaning up Delgado's vandalism to walls, signs, poles, trash cans, and other properties.

Phoenix Graffiti Busters spends more than $2 million a year to clean up graffiti, a 67 percent increase over 5 years ago.

Citizens can help fight graffiti taggers in their area with a new app available to all iPhone and Droid phone users. It allows them to photograph graffiti using their phone and send it to the Phoenix Neighborhood Services database.

To download this free application, search available apps for the keyword "myphoenix." Once installed, open the application and follow the prompts to take a picture of the graffiti and then tap submit.

 

how did they track him.. shove a beeper up his ass?

 

Graffitti artists are merely doing the same thing that people who drew in caves did thousands of years ago. I see nothing wrong with contributing art to your community, if its beautiful. A lot of graffitti art is quite beautiful. The exception being anything gang related....

anyone who actually downloads that ap and participates in that program has a stick shoved very far up their tight ass. people should lighten up and allow a little bit of color in their lives.

 

Graffiti is art if it is on the building you own or have permission to put it on a surface.

If not, it is vandalism and most people wish to have their building restored. It is expensive and depending on the age of the building can be destructive to the brick to blast it.

 

^^Exactly.^^
Shit people, what is with all the emotional knee jerk reactions to crap like this.
Most "taggers" are vandalizing, plain and simple. The vast majority of graffiti I see are gang tags and just general lame ass remarks and cartoon type crap. Occasionally you do have the true artist that have chosen brick walls and spray paint as their medium, and often their work is NOT removed.

Serpentor do know what type of "tagging" this guy was doing? Have you ever had your business/home/car tagged?

Meliai what type of graffiti was this guy doing? Was it art or garbage?

If it was garbage then throw his ass in jail.
Really, some of you people need to apply a little thought and common sense to things before you open your mouths.

 

we have a wall downtown that has some legitimate graff pieces on it that are really nice.. some idiot toys put some shit up next to them and their's got buffed.. the good old stuff stayed up..

i have been following a couple of graffiti writer's blogs for a couple years now. these are some of the hardest working most skilled graffiti artists and still participate in the illegal vandalism aspect of it very much.

 

trains look better painted..

 

So you wouldn't mind if I spray painted whatever I wanted on the side of your house/car?

 

i look at it like getting mauled by a grizzly bear or killed in a natural disaster.. i dont have a problem with grizzly bears or natural disasters..

 

I have no idea, I did not see this particular guy's graffiti.

Really, some of you people need to apply a little humility and put your condescension in check before you open your mouths.

This is not what i was referring to. I've seen plenty of graffitti in cities that were not painted with permits or any kind of legality involved but they still looked quite lovely and it would be a shame to see them removed

 

I'll ask again -
So you wouldn't mind if I spray painted whatever I wanted on the side of your house/car?

Here's a hint: The point isn't whether or not the graffiti looks good (something that is entirely dependent on personal taste and isn't measurable anyways) it's about someone vandalizing something that doesn't belong to them, and how they don't have the right to do that. This guy could have been spraying the most beautiful art in the word on the sides of buildings, and he still deserves to go to jail, because he was doing it on someone else's property. I don't want people using my property as their personal canvas, and I respect that fact that other people don't want that either.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERTYrZFi-4M"]YouTube - My graffiti pictures.wmv

[thanks john!]

 

Spray paint on people's fences,houses traffic signs (that I see all the time)or buildings looks like shit and adds to the uneasy feeling that there are fuckers around that don't care to respect other people's property -or persons ,for that matter. Designated areas for true artwork are fine and there needs to be more of them. Otherwise off to jail with the pricks.

 

He can paint whatever he wants to, within the bounds of Obscenity laws, on his own buildings....Is there anyplace but the US where a hardware store on a hilltop can have "Jesus is Lord" in 10 foot high letters on it's wall? We have one of those around here.

6 1/2 years seems a bit much for damage it took Phoenix only $20,000 to clean up, though...6 mos county time, and restitution seems more fair.

 

$30,000+++ to keep a person in jail for one year.. that's $200,000 of our hard earned tax money..

good graffiti artist doesn't want to paint on the side of your house or your honda civic.. it all about location..

 

Must we look at graffiti from the standpoint of property owners? The buildings themselves are an eyesore to many people.

 

This is considered art or an improvement?






If so, then let him purchase a piece of property and deface it to his hearts content.

He does not have the right to go around and tag property that does not belong to him.

 

Uhhm, yeah. Are we supposed to look at it from the viewpoint of some kid with a can of spray paint?

As has been already mentioned, the ARTIST who choose these media are often commissioned to paint murals on those eyesore buildings.

The graffiti vandals just tag stuff with no regard for other's property.

And I still would like to know what category the guy being sent to prison is in. I'm willing to bet it's not the artist category.

 

What does meaning have to do with aesthetic beauty?

 

and often the talented graffiti artist will get the property owners permission.