MAN arraigned for spray painting graffiti

... A police investigative report said a volunteer in the Hill section had cleaned up "sent" graffiti on mailboxes, Dumpsters and other surfaces

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The man alleged to be the spray-paint tagger "Sent" has been arraigned on a dozen misdemeanor counts of unlawful mischief.

The charges against Steven Goldfield, 21, who describes himself as a University of Vermont senior majoring in business, stem from allegations he painted his tag "sent" on mailboxes, walls and other locations throughout downtown Burlington.

He pleaded not guilty.

A police investigative report said a volunteer in the Hill section had cleaned up "sent" graffiti on mailboxes, Dumpsters and other surfaces at least 40 times in the past two years.

Assistant State's Attorney John St. Francis said that although the cumulative cost of cleaning up the vandalism could exceed $1,000 -- the amount required for a felony charge -- the incidents couldn't be combined.

The police report said that a staff member at the city's anti-graffiti First Reponse Team had a list of 22 "sent" vandalisms. She told police it costs $117 to clean graffiti from stone or brick, $64 from metal and $117 to cover the graffiti with new paint.

Police arrested Goldfield at 3:30 a.m. March 2 when they saw him painting "sent" on a Pearl Street wall. He had paint stains on his hands and clothing, the police report said, and had an appointment book with a reminder to himself to "get paint."

Police used a search warrant to search Goldfield's apartment March 4 and found pictures on his computer of "sent" graffiti, the affidavit said, "some of which show Goldfield in the process of writing them."

The night he was arrested, Goldfield told police he "was just being stupid," but in a question-and-answer interview by Julian Brizzi in the Feb. 17 Vermont Cynic college newspaper, "Sent" was quoted as saying he tagged whenever he left his house. In that interview "Sent" described graffiti as art.

St. Francis said the State's Attorney's Office is not taking the charges against Goldfield lightly.

"On the books, the crime may appear to be insignificant," he said, "but when you face them and deal with them as you're walking around, they're much more serious than the statutes might indicate. Crimes like this affect so many people, not just the person whose property was damaged."