Graffiti Suspect Allegedly Tags His Courtroom

And catches felony charges for his trouble
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 20, 2014 3:25 PM CDT
Graffiti Suspect Allegedly Tags His Courtroom
   (Shutterstock)

True artists never stop working, and unfortunately for him, Francisco Canseco might be a true artist. The 18-year-old was in court in April to face misdemeanor graffiti vandalism charges when, police allege, he whipped out his paint pen and tagged the backs of courtroom chairs and hallway benches with his moniker, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. "He wrote it while he was waiting," a detective says. Police say they tied the graffiti to Canseco using the software tool Graffiti Tracker, then searched his home and found the same moniker painted all over, plus lots more graffiti paraphernalia.

Now, those misdemeanor charges are on hold—because he's facing felony charges for the courtroom tags, which cost more than $400 to clean up. Canseco is allegedly a particularly prolific artist; he was facing 31 misdemeanor counts, and has been arrested in connection with more than 60 graffiti cases, according to NBC San Diego. (Unwanted graffiti recently showed up in another strange spot: a washed-up whale.)

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