By Dave Hill<br><a href="mailto:hilld@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dave</a>
The Tonawanda News
April 23, 2008 11:01 pm
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Tonawanda police last week put another dent in the city’s graffiti problem by arresting a juvenile suspected of tagging at least five locations using the name “MITE.”
Police do not yet have an exact dollar amount of the damage caused, but Detective Tim Toth said, “We’re probably looking at a couple hundred dollars.”
M&M Forwarding on Main Street was among those most heavily hit by MITE, a 15-year-old city resident. Police cannot reveal the suspect’s name because of his youthful offender status. He is scheduled to appear in Family Court on Friday. The teen’s tag also has been found inside the Spaulding Fibre complex and on CSX railroad property over Ellicott Creek.
While conducting random building checks in February, police located more of MITE’s work at Eastern Park in the city’s Gastown section.
“The building was just slammed with graffiti,” Toth said.
City police began investigating MITE in November after receiving a complaint of graffiti on the bathroom doors at Ives Pond skate park. Two days later, police discovered MITE’s tag on the back wall of M&M Forwarding. Police believe they may actually have scared MITE away one night because they found the phrase “cops came” near one of his incomplete tags.
Police secured enough evidence to charge the youth when they were called to his home recently to break up an argument. After obtaining some information that the teen was likely the person tagging as MITE, detectives asked the boy’s father if his son was expressing himself artistically. When police were shown the teen’s bedroom, they found the tag MITE written all over the walls and furniture, Toth said.
He said the department is investigating two other juveniles who have been tagging around the city.
“We want to get a handle on this before the warm weather breaks,” Toth said. “The warmer the weather, the better the surfaces are.”
Toth also hopes that this most recent arrest sends a message to the city’s remaining graffiti vandals.
“Hopefully the kids understand that this is a serious offense, and certainly it’s a blight on the community,” he said.
Because of the efforts of the Graffiti Hurts Regional Task Force, which works closely with Tonawanda police, more and more graffiti suspects are being convicted, and local courts are taking the charges seriously, according to Toth.
Earlier this month, Buffalo City Court sentenced Matthew “Worm” Swan, 21, and two of his accomplices to 500 hours community service, $1,164 restitution and probation for vandalizing property owned by Buffalo and the Peace Bridge Authority.
Tonawanda police will continue to be vigilant in tracking down graffiti vandals here, Toth said.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s anything that’s going to go away soon.”
Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.
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