VAN NUYS : Man Gets 6 Months in Graffiti Case

A Sherman Oaks man pleaded no contest Monday to tagging an RTD bus and then taking a swing at an undercover Los Angeles police officer who was arresting him for writing the graffiti.

Tim Barnholtz, 20, was sentenced to six months in jail after being caught in the act of writing his moniker on the inside of a window on a bus traveling on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks on Sept. 20.

After observing Barnholtz use a paint marker to scrawl his tag, the undercover officer, who was riding the bus specifically to deter tagging, approached Barnholtz to make the arrest. According to the police report, Barnholtz “suddenly turned in my direction (and) swung a closed right fist at my face.”

Barnholtz was taken into custody without further incident, authorities said. Neither the officer nor the suspect was injured.

Barnholtz pleaded no contest--the equivalent of a guilty plea in criminal court--to one count of vandalism and one count of resisting arrest. At the time of the incident, he was on probation in three separate cases involving vandalism and tampering with a vehicle.

Deputy City Atty. Gary Geuss said Barnholtz belongs to a tagging crew that calls itself KNL, or “Kids Never Learn.”

In addition to the jail time, Van Nuys Municipal Court Commissioner Mitchell Block ordered Barnholtz to complete two academic classes toward his high school diploma. If he fails to pass these classes, he will serve another six months in County Jail, Geuss said.

“Hopefully, the two high school classes plus the jail time will help him learn,” Geuss said.

Block scheduled an Aug. 30 hearing to determine how much Barnholtz will pay to the Metropolitan Transit Authority to reimburse the agency for cleaning up his graffiti, Geuss said.