04/26/2003
Police expect to arrest more graffiti "taggers" after a 19-year-old Dallas resident, who police say uses the aliases "Sekt" and "Corpse," turned himself in to Denton police.
Police say Jay Stephen Voltmann is responsible for one-third of all reported graffiti crimes in Denton from January to March. The crimes resulted in more than $10,000 in damage on both city and private property and cost taxpayers more than $6,000, police said.His signatures are also common in Dallas, where more than 100 of his graffiti marks were found in a quarter-mile of Deep Ellum, said Denton police Officer Rachel Fleming.
Mr. Voltmann was arrested on a felony graffiti charge April 10. The charge is punishable by up to two years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine in addition to restitution. He was released after posting a $750 bond.
Officer Fleming, who investigated the graffiti cases with the Dallas Police Department Gang Unit, said Mr. Voltmann worked with a group called Half Dead. The group included about four spraypainters who lived near Mr. Voltmann in the Lakeview area of Dallas, east of downtown.
The group marks its work with "HD" for Half Dead or "RA" for "Rise Above."
Mr. Voltmann described "Rise Above" as a state of mind or an attitude, Officer Fleming said.
"[Half Dead members] don’t fit the legal definition of a gang," she said. "I would not consider them a violent group. They are anti-authoritarian, and I think that their whole purpose in tagging is kind of an in-your-face anti-establishment. Typically, they’ll paint stuff that belongs to city property or corporate property like GTE boxes."
Police said Mr. Voltmann is suspected of graffiti work around the Fry Street area and the Calhoun Middle School area. Damage in those areas mainly affected city property such as streetlight poles, Dumpsters and transformer boxes.
Graffiti also damaged private property.
The Tomato, 1226 W. Hickory St., was among several Fry Street businesses vandalized a couple of months ago.
"It was on the [south] Fry Street side, a nice big flat wall, but it’s well-lit," said owner Robert Slusarski. "If this is the guy, he’s very bold."
Denton police started investigating graffiti cases in January when the city witnessed an increase in cases, Officer Jim Bryan said.
According to police, Mr. Voltmann’s father convinced his son to turn himself in. Police had previously searched the Voltmanns’ home in Lakeview, where the suspect lives, Officer Fleming said.
The department expects to make additional arrests for graffiti crimes.
On April 18, a truant juvenile was detained for graffiti that used multiple tagging names. Initial damage estimates are about $500.
"[Graffiti] follows what is called the broken-window principle," Officer Bryan said. "Basically, the idea is this — if you have somebody who has a broken window on their business and it’s not taken care of, more windows will be broken."
CRISTINA RODRIGUEZ can be reached at 940-566-6862.