Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 28, 1993 TAG: 9309280237
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANASSAS LENGTH: Short
Prince William County police said the boys have hit more than 100 times in the past year. They have painted their initials on storefronts, a water tower and 92 electrical boxes owned by Virginia Power, police said.
"They call it an art form," police detective Steven Hudson said. "They haven't got a clue how much it costs to repaint that stuff, until you tell them. Then you get complete disbelief."
The damage included spray-painted logos at Woodbridge High School, where seven of the boys, ages 15 and 16, are students, Hudson said. The eighth person charged, 18-year-old Christian Jordan, dropped out of Woodbridge, Hudson said.
The group faces 36 charges of destruction of property. Each misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The youths were charged last week; no trial date was set.
"It's really picked up lately. We can't keep track of it all," Hudson said of the spray-paint attacks. "But we believe this group is responsible for 90 percent of it."
Nearly 50 businesses have been hit.
"I hope they've caught all of them, because it's ridiculous that they're running around destroying people's property like that," said Pam McTague, office manager of Bond Office Services, a printing company. Employees arrived at the building Sept. 13 to find one wall covered with black, red and blue symbols and initials.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.