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Question: How can I be charged with Grafitti without the police catching me in the act?

Answer:

Graffiti is more generally known as criminal damage. Damaging someones property can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the dollar amount of the damage. (A.R.S. § 13-1602).

 

A charge of criminal damage can be made against you when the prosecution believes it has enough evidence to have a judge or jury convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the offense. The officer who arrests you does not have to witness the damage when you did it. In fact, there doesnt have to be an eye-witness to the offense at all.

It is possible, for example, that someone else saw you commit the crime and reported it to the police. It is also conceivable that the officer saw the graffiti on a wall, and when questioning you about something else, noticed that your notebook had similar drawings and sayings as the graffiti. The state would still have to be able to convince the judge or jury that you did it, however, for you to be found guilty. The charge, by itself, is not evidence.
Comments
6 thru 10 of 49 comments
On 03/13/04
joe bloggs from Othe said:
hehe have you noticed all the graffers on here are illiterate??
On 02/29/04
asy from GA said:
if you think think that graffiti is so great, do it on cardboard and sell it as a poster or something. That way people don't think you're a "property destroyer", you won't get in trouble with the law, and you'll make the world a more colorful place
On 02/29/04
ASY from GA said:
Finally, there is someone that see's it my way!!!!!!!!!!!
On 02/26/04
Dave from AZ said:
For those of you who think the police can't arrest you for your "art" if they don't see you do it, guess again. Have you ever heard of the word "investigation?" Polive officers on-view very little crime, yet people pay the consequences for their actions all the time. Art is not about destroying somebody else's property. If you must tag property, go do your house; paint the whole thing pink, purple, and yellow or whatever; but if you're charged w/ destroying somebody else's property, be advised that in the state of Arizona there's a good chance that, depending on the damage, it's a felony.
On 02/22/04
saika from CA said:
i aint actually from da usa, im from london, but im goin frew da same stuff as all da oter graf artists out dere. jus cause im a grafitti sprayer dont mean im a la breaker, da pigs shud do dere job n' catch real crims instead of us artists hu r just makin the world a brigher place, u get me? peace! saika
6 thru 10 of 49 comments


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