Atlanta police announced Thursday they’ve taken down two more suspected notorious repeat offenders: accused graffiti taggers Brandon “OBVS” Carrafa and James “NEATO” Strawn.
The two “have been plaguing the city” by spray painting throughout the area until Officer Bradley Etterle collared them, said Sgt. Greg Lyon.
Etterle, the city’s graffiti abatement officer, arrested Carrafa, 34, on outstanding warrants for graffiti-related vandalism after a north Atlanta traffic stop by other officers, Lyon said.
Etterle had documented more than 30 OBVS tags during a months-long investigation, Lyon said. and a search warrant for his apartment yielded a trove of evidence: more than 50 cans of spray paint and 100 spray paint caps, sketches, T-shirts with the “OBVS” tag, and a telescoping ladder.
He faces multiple charges so far, including one count of Interference with Government Property and two counts of Criminal Trespass.
Strawn, 30, was arrested by west Atlanta officers on outstanding warrants for graffiti vandalism Jan. 18 during a suspicious person call at the Engineers Bookstore on Marietta Street.
Etterle documented about 150 instances of graffiti with the “NEATO” graffiti moniker believed to be by Strawn throughout the city, Lyon said.
He is charged with two counts of criminal trespass, two counts of interference with government property and one count of criminal damage to property.
Viewed by some people as a harmless prank or as art when done in places like the Krog Street tunnel, graffiti taggers or artists have nonetheless drawn the ire of neighborhoods, business owners and Atlanta police, which assigned Etterle to bring them to justice.
Some business owners and residents have fought back — including with a lawsuit in the Old Fourth Ward— especially when the "art" takes the tag form of monikers or doodles which they've spent hours cleaning off buildings only to see them reappear.
And one Cabbagetown resident in 2008 made a controversial capture of two taggers who were spray painting a wall that residents had cleaned up the day before. Police ended up arresting the vigilante who has set up his own sting by hiding in a tree.
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