Tackling the ‘Taggers’ : Police Swoop Down on 11 Youths They Say Are Part of ‘Writing Crew’ Behind Most of Anaheim’s Graffiti

Chris Acosta is an accomplished artist whose handiwork is seen citywide.

Trouble is, police allege, the 18-year-old’s canvas is a billboard, drainage ditch or building, and his medium is spray paint.

Acosta finds his favorite pastime fun and exciting, and considers it a unique avenue of self-expression.

Police call it graffiti.

“They can call it what they want. They can give it a fancy name--call it art,” said Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy. “But to us, it’s criminal activity, plain and simple.”

In what authorities said was a crackdown on street graffiti, officers Tuesday morning arrested 11 local members--including Acosta--of a Los Angeles-based “writing crew” on misdemeanor charges of vandalism.

Police said they hoped to break up the organized group of graffiti artists, known among themselves as “Sick of Society Kings,” or SSK. The crew, police say, is responsible for most of the graffiti in the city, which costs $240,000 a year to clean up.

Also arrested were William Ramirez, Robert Marenco, both 18, and eight juveniles, whose ages ranged from 16 to 17, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Craig Hunter. The adults were being on $2,500 bail and were expected to be arraigned in Municipal Court in Fullerton today.

Hunter said the department will recommend that a judge sentence the defendants to community service: cleaning up graffiti.

That job is daunting, Hunter said. Each year, city workers paint over more that 1 million square feet of graffiti, done both by hard-core gang members and non-gang “taggers.”

“They have no idea how much it costs the public,” said Investigator Steve Nolan, a member of the Anaheim Police Department’s gang detail. City streets “are just a big chalkboard to these guys.”

Police also confiscated boxes containing new and used cans of spray paint, dozens of marking pens and hundreds of sketches, reportedly used as patterns for graffiti.

The material, much of which was allegedly stolen, was found in the suspects’ bedrooms during the arrests that began at 6 a.m., police said.

Marenco and his 17-year-old brother were awakened by three police officers bursting into the cramped bedroom of their Anaheim apartment.

“What’s going here?” Marenco asked.

“I think you know why we’re here,” Nolan replied.

Minutes later, the two brothers were dressed and handcuffed. They said they were not surprised at the raid by Nolan and other officers, who had questioned them about graffiti two weeks ago.

“What’s the deal with the rest of the fools?” Marenco asked, referring to other SSK members. “You got them too?”

“You’ll see them soon, homeboy,” Nolan responded.

The SSK group, with about 350 members in the Southland, is not a violent street gang. Instead, the writers spend their nights dreaming up more elaborate ways and places to scrawl their names. The more visible, the better the kick.

“It’s like a high, you know,” said one 17-year suspect, who joked with other SSK members in the police station late Tuesday morning while police filled out paperwork. “But it’s better than acid.”

Nolan said that the thrill of climbing four stories above a freeway sign or high atop a towering billboard to “tag” or create a colorful “piece” can be almost addictive for the young street artists, many of whom keep sample books or portfolios of their work.

Anaheim police believe stopping the taggers is also important as a means of blocking their eventual involvement in gangs.

During the raids, Guillermo Ramirez, whose son William was arrested, said he was shocked at the allegations against his son.

“I see writing all the time,” Guillermo said, adding that he routinely cleans up graffiti in front of his house. “First, I do something about it. Now I got a son who is doing it. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand it.”