Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced today that three people have been charged with defacing an "L" train subway tunnel with graffiti. The release follows:
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that three alleged members of a major graffiti crew have been indicted on charges of causing more than $10,000 in damage by vandalizing one of the L line subway tunnels and emergency exits with spray paint. Two of the alleged crew members are also charged with spray painting their tags on two Long Island City buildings a month earlier.
District Attorney Brown said, "Graffiti is a symptom of criminality and negatively affects the quality of life of all citizens through decreased property values, increased taxes and a financial burden on affected businesses and homes. City officials and anti-graffiti activists have done a remarkable job over the years in cleaning up New York City’s image as a graffiti-scarred city. We cannot allow individuals to mar the beauty of our City and threaten to return us to the days when our transit system and our highways and buildings were covered with graffiti."
The District Attorney identified the defendants as Miles Wickham, 22, (a/k/a RESKEW, RSKW and RW), of 404 5th Street; Michael Baca, 22, (a/k/a 2ESAE - pronounced Too Easy), of 545 Meeker Avenue; and Raul Mendez, 35 (a/k/a DRO), of 1738 East New York Avenue, all of Brooklyn.
The three defendants, who are alleged members of ACC (which stands for All City Crew and Another Crime Committed) are variously charged in a 43-count indictment with second- and fourth-degree criminal mischief, making graffiti and third-degree criminal trespass. If convicted, each of the defendants faces up to seven years in prison.
The District Attorney said that, according to the charges, the three defendants illegally entered the "L" line subway tunnel between the Halsey and Wilson Streets station, which borders both Queens and Kings Counties, in June 2006 and videotaped themselves defacing the tunnel walls and emergency exit # 197 by spray painting their personal tags and the tag ACC. As a result, it is alleged their actions caused more than $10,000 in damage to the property. It is further alleged that, a month earlier, the defendants Baca and Mendez caused more than $500 in damage to each of two Long Island City buildings by spray painting their tags on a Pathmark Supermarket located at 42-02 Northern Boulevard and on a warehouse located at 38-30 43rd Street.
The videotape was recovered from the vehicle of one of the defendants when Wickham and Mendez were arrested in Brooklyn on July 3, 2006 on criminal mischief charges.
The three defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on May 2, 2007, in Queens County Supreme Court in Kew Gardens.
The investigation was conducted by Police Officer Paul Appleton and Sergeant Robert Colon, of the Transit Bureau Citywide Vandals Task Force, under the supervision of Captain Elwood Selover, Commanding Officer, and by Detective Anthony Navarro and Sergeant Kevin Cooper, of the Transit Bureau Special Investigations Unit, under the supervision of Lieutenant Paul Murphy, Commanding Officer.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Michael Brovner of the District Attorney’s Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the three cases under the supervision of Mariela Palomino Herring, Bureau Chief, and Michele E. Goldstein, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Senior Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials James Clark Quinn and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorneys for Trials John H. Larsen and Robert Masters
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
