Alert drivers on Fourth Plain Boulevard near state Highway 500 helped Washington State Patrol troopers catch four juveniles on a midafternoon graffiti spree on Sunday.
Motorists called 911 around 3:20 p.m. to say that the boys were tagging signs, businesses and the Highway 500 overpass, WSP Sgt. Roy Rhine said Monday.
Rhine said he arrived in time to catch the boys — ages 12, 15, 16 and 17 — with a can in hand.
“We actually caught them orange-handed and blue-handed,” he said, referring to the colors of spray paint they were using. “They had paint on their hands, paint on their clothing and latex gloves covered with paint.”
The boys confessed to the graffiti and showed Rhine where they had discarded other empty cans, he said. They said they were not part of a gang, but rather a tagging crew that competes with other crews to cover the most ground with their distinctive designs, Rhine said. The boys, who live in the Hazel Dell area, also said they had tagged in the Minnehaha neighborhood.
The state patrol is still collecting damage information and will refer charges to the juvenile prosecutor after they have a full estimate, he said, although one Coldwell Banker sign they hit sustained an estimated $800 to $1,000 in damage.
Other victims of Sunday’s spree included Catholic Community Services at 9300 N.E. Oak View Drive, city of Vancouver and state Department of Transportation signs and poles, and the state-owned overpass, which is near Interstate 205.
Rhine said the graffiti he saw Sunday did not resemble the graffiti pictured in a story on increased tagging near the Fort Vancouver National Site in Monday’s Columbian.
He asked that anyone who recognizes the graffiti from Sunday’s Fourth Plain spree and believes this same crew tagged their property to call 360-449-7923.
