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Concerned
citizen
tip
leads to
charges
against
multiple
graffiti
vandals,
including
perjury
•
Female
suspect
charged
with
perjury
after
lying
under
oath
about
her
involvement
due back
in court
on
Monday,
March
27th
• Two
other
suspects
charged
in
connection
with
vandalism
of
vacant
school
due back
in court
on
Tuesday
and
Friday
DETROIT
- Three
alleged
graffiti
vandals
will be
in court
this
week
thanks
to a
concerned
Detroit
citizen
who
contacted
police
after he
witnessed
two
suspects
tag a
commercial
building
located
at 1116
Townsend
and then
photographed
the
license
plate of
their
car as
they
drove
away.
On
Monday,
March
27, one
of the
suspects,
Gabriela
June
Gibson,
will
have her
preliminary
exam on
three
counts
of
perjury,
a
15-year
felony,
for
making
false
statements
under
oath at
an
investigative
subpoena
interview,
according
to
assistant
corporation
counsel
Dough
Baker.
Charges
against
Gibson,
who
recently
moved to
Detroit
from
Perry,
Michigan,
were
originally
dismissed
last
year in
the
Townsend
street
offense
after a
failure
to
positively
identify
her.
However,
continued
investigation
by the
Detroit
Police
Department
and Law
Department
revealed
that she
not only
participated
in the
vandalism,
but also
drove
the car
to the
location.
The
getaway
car was
registered
to
Gibson’s
mother.
“Eventually
the
graffiti
vandals
in and
around
our city
will
learn
that
Detroit
is no
longer
the
place to
come to
tag
buildings,”
said
Mayor
Mike
Duggan.
“We are
going to
continue
addressing
the
crime of
illegal
tagging
because
it
affects
the
quality
of life
of
residents
in our
neighborhoods.
We've
made a
great
deal of
progress
but
aren't
going to
let up.”
Through
the
investigation,
Detroit
Police
also
identified
Nathan
Koorhan
of
Detroit
and
Craig
Kowalski
of Ira,
Michigan.
Both men
allegedly
participated
in the
tagging
of other
buildings
with
Gibson.
Kowalski
has been
charged
with
breaking
and
entering
and with
malicious
destruction
of a
vacant
school
resulting
in more
than
$20,000
worth of
damage,
a
10-year
felony.
He will
be in
court on
Tuesday
for him
preliminary
exam.
Koorhan
will be
charged
similarly
and will
be in
court on
Friday.
“The
actions
of these
vandals
and
others
like
them
will
continue
to be
addressed
and
those
who
decide
to lie
under
oath
will be
prosecuted,”
said DPD
sergeant
Rebecca
McKay.
“This
was
nothing
more
than a
feeble
attempt
to
obstruct
justice
and
these
vandals
failed.
These
charges
are only
the
beginning
of more
to come
from
what has
been
learned
from
Gibson’s
texts
and
other
sources.”
Attacking
graffiti
on
multiple
fronts
The
enforcement
is part
of Mayor
Mike
Duggan’s
push to
eradicate
illegal
graffiti
from the
city.
Over the
past 2
years,
the city
has
arrested
dozens
of
graffiti
vandals.
Sentences
have
included
jail
time of
up to
six
months
and cash
restitution
ordered
in the
amount
of
$37,346
in
total.
Of that
amount,
$10,000
has been
collected
so far.
Several
taggers
also
have
been
sentenced
to clean
up their
own
graffiti
or that
of
others.
Gibson
is the
first to
be
charge
with
multiple
felonies
for
perjury
on a
graffiti
case,
Baker
said.
During
that
time,
more
than
30,000
illegal
tags
also
have
been
removed
from
buildings,
bus
shelters
and
electrical
boxes by
city
General
Services
Department
crews
and
building
owners
at the
direction
of the
city.
Inspectors
from the
city’s
Building
Safety,
Engineering
and
Environmental
Department
routinely
drive
the
city’s
main
corridors
looking
for new
tags. If
building
owners
don’t
remove
the
graffiti
within
the
required
time
frame,
the city
removes
it and
sends a
bill to
the
owner.
To date,
BSEED
inspectors
have
issued
more
than
3,513
tickets.
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