Former youthful "taggers," brought together through a church, put their talents to good use on this wall in Kalihi. Photo by Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin.
By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin
And they're nailing them, not only for illegal artistry, but for more serious crimes uncovered in the searches.
Honolulu police are so impressed with Kona's results they're "playing catch-up," said Harry Auld, captain of HPD's Criminal Intelligence Unit.
"All the crime-reduction unit guys are scrambling to see who can make the first search warrant based on what they've done in Kona," Auld said. "The first one to get it is going to get a prize."
Sgt. Brad Ballesteros, detective with the Kona police juvenile section, said police began identifying taggers and getting warrants in November 1994.
"When you deal with these kids, you get kind of angry at them because kids' attitudes are really bad these days. When you get on the street, if you have no reason to arrest them, they'll get in your face. vxxx They've got no respect for police."
That may be changing since Kona police cracked down on taggers in a flood runoff channel called "Tunnels."
Four 17-year-olds were arrested, put on probation, required to make $800 restitution, and do community service.
"They got away pretty easy," Ballesteros said, noting damage at the Tunnels was about $10,000.
But one youth was recently arrested again and may get a tougher sentence because now he's 18.
Elaborate, large murals had been sprayed at the Tunnels and such graffiti gradually spread to buildings, cars and roadways, he said. Police identified two leaders and got warrants to search their homes.
"It was amazing," Ballesteros said.
Police found empty Polaroid cartridges and altered paint nozzles at the Tunnels, he said.
"When we got to the houses, they had disposable cameras and pictures of themselves taken at different stages of graffiti. We went to court and they didn't even contest it."
Guns also were found in one house, the detective said.
In January, Kona police worked with state Department of Land and Natural Resources officers to catch taggers at the old Kona Airport, he said.
"Workers during the day were cleaning up graffiti, and as soon as they'd clean it up, they'd go back and find the same graffiti."
Taggers left messages such as, "Keep on scrubbing, you stupid vxxx whatever," Ballesteros said.
He said frustrated DLNR officers staked out the area for several days and finally saw someone climb a guardrail and spray paint his moniker, "oops," on a sign. The same name had been sprayed all over town, he said.
"We tied it in."
Police identified the main players in the airport case and got search warrants on two houses and a car, he said.
"The rest came in and we talked to them. They admitted they were involved in graffiti but didn't paint down there."
All taggers in that group were adults, 18 to 20, and included three of those arrested at age 17 in the Tunnels case, Ballesteros said.
"They don't learn," he said. "They think it's a status symbol."
But when police hit them for stolen credit cards and felony offenses, he added, "It gives them a message they're not going to get away with it."
An 18-year-old was arrested from the airport taggers based on findings in his car, and others were routed to the prosecutor's office, Ballesteros said.
Stolen credit cards were found in the car, along with about 50 cans of spray paint in the car's tire well. Also in the car was what looked like eyeglasses, with no lenses, he said.
"It was kinda cute. On the sides, it had little flashlights, like headlights, that go on and off automatically. They use these to paint in the dark so their hands are free. It looks real goofy but it does the job."
Honolulu police learned only recently about their colleagues' use of search warrants to halt graffiti in Kona, Auld said.
"It's real creative on their part and it's got the support of the prosecutor, and so have we."
But it's not as simple as looking at a wall and recognizing a tag, which a rival gang member could forge, Auld added. There must be justifiable cause for a search warrant, he said.