First 'graffiti cam' victim gets fine, 210 days in jail
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, October 21, 2005
DAKOTA CITY -- The first suspect caught on a South Sioux City "graffiti cam" was sentenced Thursday in Dakota County Court.
Conrado Caro, 20, of South Sioux City, was charged with criminal mischief, having no driver's license and no valid vehicle registration after being caught by one of the digital cameras on Aug. 15.
Judge Kurt T. Rager ordered him to pay a $500 fine and serve 90 days in jail for criminal mischief, and to serve 60 days in jail on each of the other two charges, with the terms to run one after the other for a total of 210 days.
Police Chief Scot Ford said the sentence should send a message. He said a recent spike in graffiti around the city is a "push back," but that authorities will continue to arrest and prosecute perpetrators. A group of five people, including two juveniles, was recently arrested for a three-building graffiti spree after an eye witness called police.
County Attorney Edward Matney also applauded the sentence and pledged that his office will do all it can to seek harsh punishment for the property damage crime.
Caro was arrested Aug. 17, two days after his image and his car's image were captured in three photos taken by an electronic, motion-triggered camera. He was seen in one picture with a can of spray paint in one hand. Ford sent the photos electronicallty to every squad car. Officers recognized the vehicle and were able to stop and arrest Caro.
The camera was mounted about 20 feet off the ground near a storage facility at 26th Street and Second Avenue that had been a frequent target of graffiti. Caro's prosecution was the first made possible by the camera's photos.
They are still the only useful pictures the police have gotten from the city's four anti-graffiti cameras, the first two of which were installed in July. Ford said the cameras have captured cats and children zipping by on bicycles, but no graffiti taggers. Still, he said, word of their locations gets around and make them useful deterrents.
Conrado Caro, 20, of South Sioux City, was charged with criminal mischief, having no driver's license and no valid vehicle registration after being caught by one of the digital cameras on Aug. 15.
Judge Kurt T. Rager ordered him to pay a $500 fine and serve 90 days in jail for criminal mischief, and to serve 60 days in jail on each of the other two charges, with the terms to run one after the other for a total of 210 days.
Police Chief Scot Ford said the sentence should send a message. He said a recent spike in graffiti around the city is a "push back," but that authorities will continue to arrest and prosecute perpetrators. A group of five people, including two juveniles, was recently arrested for a three-building graffiti spree after an eye witness called police.
County Attorney Edward Matney also applauded the sentence and pledged that his office will do all it can to seek harsh punishment for the property damage crime.
Caro was arrested Aug. 17, two days after his image and his car's image were captured in three photos taken by an electronic, motion-triggered camera. He was seen in one picture with a can of spray paint in one hand. Ford sent the photos electronicallty to every squad car. Officers recognized the vehicle and were able to stop and arrest Caro.
The camera was mounted about 20 feet off the ground near a storage facility at 26th Street and Second Avenue that had been a frequent target of graffiti. Caro's prosecution was the first made possible by the camera's photos.
They are still the only useful pictures the police have gotten from the city's four anti-graffiti cameras, the first two of which were installed in July. Ford said the cameras have captured cats and children zipping by on bicycles, but no graffiti taggers. Still, he said, word of their locations gets around and make them useful deterrents.
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