Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News

Marion County, June 9 - Longtime Haughville residents Mary Lou and Winford Yaryan would like the neighborhood view to change, "to look out there and not have to see where they painted the graffiti on the garages and things."

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi and a team of probationers raided Haughville Wednesday morning. They painted garages, fences and even houses to cover up graffiti.

"This graffiti everywhere," says Brizzi, "send a message to criminals. It invites them into the neighborhood."

The prosecutor paint-over is called TAG, which stands for take away graffiti.

The markings are from neighborhood kids, people posting love notes about their relationships and gang members.

Brizzi says, "There were gang symbols on there from a gang called sir 13, which is a Latin prison gang. There were some other symbols."

Among the probationers covering up the graffiti was Darious Turner. "I caught a case back in 1999 that lead me to this situation."

A judge ordered Turner to perform 50 hours of community service. When he got into trouble he had no idea he would end up painting with the prosecutor. "It's good to try to help the community. I try to work off these hours and get everybody involved in the community activities. It's a positive thing, trying to clean the community up."

And as for the Yaryans, "Across the street they have painted over some of it. But then they came and wrote some more on it."

And that means, if necessary, coming back with more probationers and more paint to make more of Marion County graffiti free.

Most of the paint-over is on living structures and they painted a few fences.

Brizzi pays for the TAG program out of his budget, which is under fire right now. Wednesday night at five he tries to convince the City-County Council not to cut $300,000 from his budget.