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LAKE FOREST � The parent of a teen caught tagging at least 23 
sites in the city with gang-related graffiti is on the hook for 
$15,000.

Last month a Superior Court judge ordered Lake Forest resident 
Maria Gutierrez to pay for acts of vandalism city officials and 
Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies said were committed 
by her son. He is not being named because officials said it will 
compromise investigations into other incidents.

The Oct. 15 ruling is the first since the city beefed up its 
graffiti law last year by making parents and teens equally 
liable for cleanup, repair, attorney, court and law enforcement 
costs.

Gutierrez's son is accused by police of tagging utility poles, 
walls and fences, businesses on El Toro Road, and at Heroes Park 
and in the Ridge Route pedestrian tunnel. The incidents date 
back to April 2010. The city spent at least $5,800 to remove the 
vandalism.

"Graffiti is not a harmless crime � it is an act of vandalism 
that negatively impacts our community," Mayor Kathryn McCullough 
said. "When we passed the ordinance a year ago, we wanted to 
give the city more tools to combat graffiti and recover costs 
for removal, and we're glad to see it's working as intended.

I hope this case serves as a warning to parents, guardians and 
youth about the consequences of committing acts of graffiti."

Matt Silver, an attorney representing the city, said this is the 
first case where legal action was needed. Gutierrez and her son 
were difficult to locate, he added.

Three more cases are in litigation and three others have been 
settled, which resulted in thousands being paid to the city. In 
the three pending cases, the city is seeking $4,621.64 in 
damages. In addition, Silver said he is seeking attorneys' fees 
and civil penalties against the taggers.

"It was smart that the city adopted the ordinance to eliminate 
this gang graffiti," he said. "This help prevents gang members 
from communicating and intimidating the community by marking off 
the gang territories."

The city amended its graffiti law � which increased penalties 
for violations and against repeat offenders � because of an 
increase in incidents and the rising cost of clean up. In 2009, 
the city spent $51,992 dealing with the vandalism. A pilot 
program started by the city's police services that year 
identified 40 taggers who alone were responsible for $30,000 in 
damages.

The amended ordinance allows the city to collect on a judgment 
by garnisheeing parents' or teens' salaries, or placing liens on 
real property, according to Silver. If no assets exist when the 
judgment is made, the city can continue recovery efforts for up 
to 10 years.

The new law also characterizes graffiti as a public nuisance. 
That allows the city to remove graffiti on private property when 
it's visible to the public or to adjoining properties. It also 
allows the city to recover removal costs if property owners 
don't take care of the graffiti in a reasonable amount of time.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-376654-graffiti-gang.html

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