Alleged graffiti artists' hearing postponed; lawyers negotiate deal

By Tribune-Review
Friday, January 14, 2005

A court hearing for two Bloomfield men accused of spray-painting graffiti on four dozen buildings in the East End was postponed this morning while their lawyer and prosecutors negotiate a deal.

Pittsburgh police arrested Kenneth Bruce Knox, 22, and Shawn Toler, 21, on Dec. 8, after officers caught them in the act of tagging a row of buildings along Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield. Since then, police said they have linked 48 incidents of vandalism that investigators said caused about $25,000 in damage and have filed felony criminal mischief charges.

Police said they hope to present to a magistrate judge next month a plan that would order Knox and Toler to work with community groups to clean up graffiti in their neighborhoods. Another hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 15 in Magistrates Court, Downtown. Knox and Toler were freed on bond last month.