Ann Arbor man charged with spray-painting Library Lane garage
An 18-year-old Ann Arbor man faces vandalism charges for allegedly spray-painting in the Library Lane underground parking garage in December.
Tayo Norton
Courtesy of WCSO
Tayo Norton was arraigned at the Washtenaw County Jail Wednesday afternoon on one felony count of malicious destruction of property between $1,000 and $20,000. Ann Arbor police Sgt. Paul Curtis said Norton was caught at 12:52 a.m. Dec. 27 spray-painting and using paint markers in the parking garage.
“It looks like he did quite a bit of damage to one spot,” Curtis said.
Norton is not believed to be any of the serial taggers whose work can be seen around Ann Arbor, Curtis said. No handle was spotted in the parking garage and the police report from the Ann Arbor incident wasn’t clear on if he was related to other incidents.
Detective Robin Larson was the lead investigator on Norton’s case. A message seeking comment was left with Larson Wednesday afternoon.
Magistrate Colleen Currie arraigned Norton Tuesday afternoon. He was given a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, meaning he will be allowed to leave jail on a promise to return for court hearings.
His preliminary exam is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 11.
Norton will be represented by the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
getagrip
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 4:17 p.m.
Remember our tax dollars support Graffiti art contest at the library, time to kill that promotion. Stick a real fine, $20,000 to the family, plus 200 hours of hard community work, word will get around. And citizens will report more of this if they know it will lead to ending this senseless vandalism.
FILTHY VANDAL
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 4:56 p.m.
Your tax dollars go to catching taggers instead of rapists. Realize this.
Kyle Feldscher
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 3:10 p.m.
I've asked various police and city officials about the rumored arrest of SAES and to this point have had nothing confirmed. I'm actively working on a story about this guy and the damage he's caused around town, but no one has wanted to go on the record about the investigation to this point. I'll have a story when it's official.
Usual Suspect
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 3:29 p.m.
He's a minor, so there's probably some protected information there. One interesting piece of information might be whether or not he has ever tagged his mother's store, or if that's one of the few places he considers off-limits.
Hmm
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 2:49 p.m.
Duog and the one that I can't quite make out are still on the loose then
Ricardo Queso
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 12:36 p.m.
Time for all comprehensive background checks for all sales of spray paint.
Usual Suspect
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 3:17 a.m.
I've often wondered if when a parent drives around town and see her kid's tag all over the place, does it make them proud? Does it have any affect on them at all? Do they ever think that maybe, perhaps, it might just be time to start doing some parenting? How in heck do you ever let your kid out of the house unsupervised when this is what he does? How do you allow him to have access to the tools of his habit? We know you allow it, because he posts pictures of the stuff on the Internet all the time. How do you continue to give him access to the Internet where he's surrounded by people who encourage him and laugh about his vandalism? Any of these parents - like the ones on the northwest side, yes, I know who you are - want to answer some of these questions?
justin
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 2:20 a.m.
Tell his parents!
justin
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 11:22 p.m.
Hooray sarcasm. The parents can do all they want, but he's 18 and he can leave the house whenever he wants. He was caught, he'll pay, hopefully to an extent where he won't do it again.
Usual Suspect
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 3:18 a.m.
The parents know. They don't do anything about it.
DJBudSonic
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 1:52 a.m.
If any property owners need an estimate for graffiti removal or remediation services let me know, I have a referral. Sometimes vandalism is covered under business insurance, the less of it around the better, I say. I hope they charge "SAES" per tag.
pbehjatnia
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 1:52 a.m.
hit him in the wallet and make it hurt.
microtini
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 1:17 a.m.
Should we be thinking about why some kids do this and how to prevent it? Or is it simply more self-satisfying to complain about it and then exact revenge when they're caught?
jcj
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 12:28 p.m.
@microtini You got a mouse in your pocket? Have at it, do all the thinking YOU want as to why!
Ricardo Queso
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 3:36 a.m.
By all means. Get a federal grant and study their behavior. Not!
Brad
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 12:11 a.m.
They need to do something about the one whose entire repertoire consists of "SAES" or something like that. What a waste of Krylon.
YouAreNotAlwaysRight
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 12:39 a.m.
Look up an read, someone just posted this... http://www.damnarbor.com/2013/03/breaking-news-saes-and-mole-arrested.html
JRW
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 11:59 p.m.
The AADL needs to stop their graffiti contest. It only promotes this vandalism.
JRW
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 11:58 p.m.
Thankfully, these punks are getting caught. I was driving around today and saw a lot more graffiti around the city. It's destructive and needs to be prosecuted. A lot of the city's signs are filled with the spray paint, which is a cost to the taxpayers when those signs are cleaned or replaced. Parks are being defaced on benches and signs as well as bridges and walkways. I even saw spray paint on utility poles. These punks need to be taught a lesson, a few days in jail, stiff fines and a criminal record. And make them clean it all up.
YouAreNotAlwaysRight
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 11:56 p.m.
AW, Flux Pavilion was in town and I missed him? http://c308991.r91.cf1.rackcdn.com/SiteFiles/Artists/1251/eba9b8fd-5403-454b-a86b-3b2b7441076a.jpg
GoNavy
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 11:47 p.m.
Apparently they apprehended the guy who tags "SAES" all over the place: http://www.damnarbor.com/2013/03/breaking-news-saes-and-mole-arrested.html
Grimey
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 9:50 p.m.
WHY didn't a2.com report on this!?! Please do, these vandals have committed thousands of dollars worth of damage throughout Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
Hmm
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 2:46 p.m.
That SAES piece of crap was the reason they had to paint over that awesome mural that was on the back of Grizzly Peak. Glad they got him!
Dirty Mouth
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 1:59 a.m.
Oh, he is the one that attacked the empty Maynard Battery building over on Miller!
TheDiagSquirrel
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 10:52 p.m.
What did he write, "Down With The DDA'?
dancinginmysoul
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 10:48 p.m.
Okay so are "taggers" the same as "graffiti artist" the same as "vandal" , it just depends on your vernacular?
Billy
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 12:25 p.m.
Of course there is a difference. One is an artist who happens to be a vandal......the other is a person who thinks they're an "artist" because they deface things with a tag.... There's a rather glaring HUGE difference between "taggers" and graff artists. What we have around here are mostly taggers. Individual punk kids who don't even have a sketch book....but still think they're somehow "artists." Look at Graffiti.org if you'd like to see some good examples of REAL graff. Remember that nearly ALL of that was put up with spray paint from a can... Real graff is some of the most impressive and beautiful art I've ever seen. We have very little of it around here anymore unfortunately. It's been replaced by a bunch of wannabe toys.
Brad
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 11:42 p.m.
"felony count of malicious destruction of property between $1,000 and $20,000" And these "different views" are what?
Kyle Feldscher
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 11:03 p.m.
dancing, it seems as if many people can have different views of the same act.
zip the cat
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 8:59 p.m.
Slap him on the wrist and quit wasteing taxpayers money. They let rapeists and murders walk scott free in this county so who thinks he is going to get any worthehile sentence. The judicial system in this county is appalling. You think the crooks read about all these wrist slapping sentences. You bet they do
jcj
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 12:25 p.m.
They can read?
ez12c
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 8:15 p.m.
100% restitution and an equal amount as a fine. Then however many hours it took to clean up the mess in community service.
DJBudSonic
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 1:46 a.m.
cruel AND unusual
Brad
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 10:33 p.m.
And since it's a DDA garage, he must perform the community service at DDA headquarters.
Scott
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 8:06 p.m.
Time to totally crack down on the serial taggers. It is out of control. These guys are scratching their tags into glass windows on storefronts now. And they flaunt their dirty work on YouTube and Twitter. Enough already.
jcj
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 12:24 p.m.
If they catch the serial taggers they need to "tag" the word dunce on their foreheads!
Usual Suspect
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 3:09 a.m.
And Instagram, in the case of SAES.
Ignatz
Wed, Apr 3, 2013 : 8:06 p.m.
A "man" doesn't vandalize.
FILTHY VANDAL
Thu, Apr 4, 2013 : 4:52 p.m.
On the contrary, a real man vandalizes EVERYTHING.