Suspected Graffiti Vandal Says He’s the One Who Got Tagged

Walter Castro’s defense in his trial on graffiti charges was a simple turnabout: He wasn’t the tagger, he was the tagged.

On the second part of that statement at least, the prosecution agrees.

Police said they watched Castro, 19, of central Los Angeles spray graffiti on a Santa Monica Boulevard light pole in east Hollywood on July 15, and that he was beset by two assailants, apparently rival taggers who thought he was infringing on their turf. They spray-painted him on both sides of his head and on his sweat shirt, a Los Angeles police officer testified Wednesday at Castro’s trial in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

“As I arrived at the location, Mr. Castro stood up and I saw the paint on him,” said Officer Gregory Davidson, who also testified that Castro threw away a spray-paint can as officers approached.

“The tagger got tagged,” said Deputy City Atty. Janet Ramos.

The two men who painted Castro escaped into the night, but he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor vandalism.

Ramos urged the jury not to sympathize with Castro’s predicament. “The poor kid got tagged himself” she said, but “that does not negate the fact this defendant painted graffiti on the light post.”

Castro’s attorney, Cynthia Belletini, argued that he did not deface the pole, but was minding his own business when two spray-paint vigilantes attacked him.

Jury deliberations will continue today. If convicted, Castro faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail.