Volunteer Stakeout Tags Taggers
Police say an alleged tagger known as “Blert” and four others, all teen-agers, had no idea someone was watching as they dashed in the darkness toward a pristine section of the Simi Valley Freeway over the weekend.
Usually, no one is.
But this weekend, the bushes along the freeway had eyes.
About 20 to 30 neighborhood volunteers staked out a five-mile stretch of the freeway with binoculars and video cameras from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as part of a multi-agency effort to catch taggers in the act. The citizens were backed up by increased police patrols and helicopters outfitted with infrared night vision equipment.
The result: Michael Flores, 21, of Northridge, who uses the tag “Blert,” and four San Fernando Valley juveniles ages 16 and 17 were arrested along the freeway in Granada Hills and charged with vandalism, Los Angeles Police Officer Martin Pinner said.
Pinner said other would-be taggers apparently got word of the joint effort by the Devonshire Volunteer Surveillance Team, police, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol: No graffiti activity was seen Sunday night and Monday morning.
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