ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
Each time Jason Atkins spray-painted his personal emblem, or "tag," on the walls of downtown Roanoke, he was essentially signing his own arrest warrant.
Atkins was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail - three days for each of the incriminating tags that spelled "Jay" in interlocking letters.
Once Atkins, 21, and two other young men were caught this year, it was easy for Roanoke authorities to bring the city's largest graffiti prosecution in recent years. All they had to do was look around for each of the vandal's personalized tags.
Atkins probably was responsible for more than the 10 misdemeanor counts of defacing property to which he pleaded guilty, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Teaster said.
But prosecutors decided it would be meaningless to file as many charges as there are tags scattered throughout the City Market area.
Atkins is just a small part of a graffiti problem that some downtown merchants say is getting worse. A variety of designs have been appearing overnight on buildings, telephone booths, sidewalks, street signs, railroad cars, roofs, and almost any other flat surface within spray-painting range.
Much of the vandalism is attributed to young people who see tagging as a form of self-expression and a way to gain recognition among their peers. Although some might argue that the tags have artistic value, merchants see them as a costly blemish on one of the city's showplaces.
Atkins testified that he didn't give it much thought.
"I was intoxicated at the time," he told Roanoke Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein. "My friends - my ex-friends, now - said 'Let's go do this,' and I said, 'All right.'''
Weckstein sentenced the unemployed high school dropout to 7 1/2 years, but suspended all but 30 days of the sentence. While on probation for the next four years, Atkins will have to complete 400 hours of community service, undergo drug and alcohol screening, and pay $2,500 toward the cost of painting over his handiwork, the judge also ordered.
In other cities that have experienced problems with graffiti, a popular punishment is to have offenders paint over the tags themselves. But after consulting with national experts, Roanoke prosecutors decided against that form of punishment.
Such court-ordered painting can result in inferior work, Teaster said, and the victims usually prefer not to see the offenders on their property again.
Atkins will make his restitution payments to a fund established by Downtown Roanoke Inc., which also will collect money from two co-defendants in the case and use it toward cleanup efforts, Teaster said.
William R. Firebaugh and Michael Zimmerman, who have both pleaded guilty to a total of 35 charges of defacing property, are scheduled to be sentenced later.
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