Seattle prosecutors charge 17 in felony graffiti cases, seek restitution for damages

SEATTLE — Prosecutors announced felony charges against more than a dozen people who are accused of vandalizing public and private property with graffiti in Seattle. King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said the cases show ‘clear accountability’ for vandals who cause damage through tagging. “There is a clear distinction between art and the type of graffiti we are talking about today,” Manion said. “Dangling above a freeway to tag traffic signs is not art. Tagging metro buses and sound transit cars is not art.” The roughly three dozen felony charges involve 17 defendants, some of whom are tied to graffiti tagging crews that have targeted Seattle. The city of Seattle spends $6 million a year on graffiti abatement, a figure that does not include private efforts from property owners, small businesses, neighborhood advocacy groups, and the state of Washington. RELATED | Suspected taggers caught on camera along I-5 as graffiti issues persist in Seattle “To get to those people who are damaging our public property, you have to hold them accountable and arrest them and say ‘this is not acceptable,'” said Tom Graff, the chair of Belltown United. Graff said small business owners in Belltown are often stuck paying to...