Graffiti Suspect Earns Year In Jail
This article was published on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 10:07 PM CDT in News
By THE MORNING NEWS


Jose Vargas, 18, received the maximum sentence for two counts of first-degree criminal mischief from Judge Stanley Ludwig. Vargas, of 342 Strawberry Meadows, No. 207, Springdale, was sentenced to a year in jail, $1,000 fine and $100 in court costs.

Vargas pleaded guilty, admitting to spraying graffiti in the area of Mountain Street and Moody Lane, according to a news release from the Springdale Police Department. Vargas was cited for three counts of criminal mischief on March 8, according to court records.

Vargas will spend time cleaning graffiti as part of his sentence, according to Kathy O'Kelley, police chief.

"We'll put him out there in an orange suit cleaning walls," O'Kelley said.

Cases are still pending on other arrests made in connection with spraying graffiti, the release states. The police department is aggressively pursing suspects in graffiti cases as part of its zero tolerance policy and will ask for the maximum sentence on each conviction, stated the release.

Graffiti cases have risen in recent weeks, with new incidents almost every night, according to police records.