|
By Mike Gervais
Register Staff
9-6-2008 A fed-up town’s attempts to crack down on a rampant graffiti problem may be working.
Two arrests have been made in connection to vandalism in east Bishop late Tuesday night and police are currently searching for at least three other suspects who fled the scene.
Sgt. Dan Nolan reported that two juveniles were arrested about 10:50 p.m. for alleged vandalism in an alley that has been hit repeatedly by graffiti bandits in East Bishop.
“One of my officers was on patrol in the area behind Union Bank, because we’ve had a lot of reports of vandalism in the area,” Nolan said. “He observed two people in the alleyway and as he approached, he saw a whole bunch of new graffiti in the alley.”
When the patrol officer asked the two subjects to speak with him, one, 15 years old, complied, the other, 17, fled west on foot.
At the same time, three or four other individuals were seen fleeing the area. Those subjects have not been apprehended.  Bishop property owner Bill Cooley cleans up graffiti for the third time since the Fourth of July. Two vandals who allegedly painted Cooley’s wall Tuesday were arrested by Bishop police officers. Three of their companions fled and are being sought. Photo by Mike Gervais
“We’re following leads that have presented themselves with the three other subjects,” Nolan said.
When the officer gave chase to the fleeing suspect, the one who had stayed alledgedly left the scene, hiding in a nearby parking lot.
Officers caught up with the 17-year-old behind AltaOne Federal Credit Union on Main Street and took him into custody.
A local business owner, who had been watching as the officer spoke with the subjects, led police to the hiding 15-year old.
“We didn’t get a confession out of them, but we were able to tie them to the spray paint,” Nolan said, explaining that the two subjects did admit to having the spray cans.
It is illegal for a minor to be in possession of a spray can, Nolan said.
The two subjects who were arrested are being charged with alleged felony vandalism and obstruction of police officers. The 17-year-old has a priorecord and is facing an additional charge of alleged probation violation.
Investigators are looking into whether the subjects they have in custody had any involvement in prior instances of vandalism around Bishop.
“We’re investigating a possible link between them and the broken windows in town,” Nolan said.
Graffiti in Bishop, especially on the east side of Main Street, has been an ongoing problem for about a year, Nolan said. The prominent tags seen around town have been MMS13 and SUR13, “all Hispanic, gang-type tags,” said Nolan.
The Bishop police department has been working to subdue the possible gang activity by enforcing dress codes in local schools, but, until Tuesday, had a hard time catching anyone involved with the vandalism.
Officials have long been aware of the increasing trend of youngsters in Bishop wearing “gang-related” attire, but with the recent vandalism, police officers are reaching out to the community, hoping to make residents aware of the problem.
“We need to let everyone know that this is gang-related,” said Bishop Police Detective Dave Jepson in an earlier interview.
It remains unclear at this time if the vandals responsible for the graffiti around Bishop are acting alone or as part of an illegal street gang.
“I think what you’re dealing with aren’t actually gang members. It’s in the emulation stage or the apprentice stage,” Jepson said. “It’s coming up from down there,” he added, referring to Southern California, where the MMS13 and SUR13 gangs are based.
Nolan said the Police Department is investigating whether or not the subjects who were arrested are active gang members, or kids emulating what they see.
According to the police department, the appearance of gang-related activity in the Eastern Sierra has been a progression. “First they started dressing like it, now they’re tagging around town,” Jepson said. “It started with Sharpie markers on street signs, now they’re tagging three-foot letters on buildings and houses.”
“There are certain requirements that classify a criminal street gang,” Nolan said. “And we’re aware of these elements and are looking into those elements up here.”
In order to curb gang activity and would-be, or wannabe, gang members, the Bishop Police Department is planning to continue with its enforcement of curfew laws for minors, and also step up enforcement of laws designed to curtail vandalism.
For instance, the department is hoping to keep materials that can be used for vandalism, such as spray cans, out of the hands of minors by enforcing those laws and working with the community to inform them of the statutes.
Additionally, Bishop Union High School is doing its part to keep the gang culture out of Bishop by enforcing dress codes that prohibit students from wearing what could be considered “gang attire.”
Jepson said that could include baseball caps, bandanas and black gloves.
Citing the ongoing investigation, Nolan said he did not want to go into detail about some of the techniques the police department is using to curb street gang activities in Bishop.
“We are employing some different resources to combat this,” he said.
|
