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Delaware State Police
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Graffiti Arrest Made Released- Tuesday, March 18, 2008 New Castle County- A Troop 6 patrol officer has concluded a two week investigation into the involvement of a 19-year-old Newark resident in recent graffiti cases in New Castle County. The case began to unfold on March 6th when John Zickgraf, of Rolling Road in Rutherford, was stopped on I-95 at Route 141 for speeding- 77 mph in a 45 mph construction zone. While the Trooper spoke with Zickgraf, who was the only occupant in the vehicle, the officer could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle ensued and a small baggie of suspected marijuana was located under the driver’s seat. Along with the pot, the Trooper located a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana. During this check of the car, the officer took note to several spray paint can caps along with several notebooks with images or ‘tags’ on the front of same. These images are commonly known as graffiti tags and this Trooper was familiar with them. These images were compared to other current graffiti cases under investigation through a check of a ‘graffiti database.’ The results of this comparison, along with other investigative measures, enabled officers to implicate Zickgraf in several unsolved incidents. On March 18th, John Zickgraf was formally charged with the following offenses: seven counts of Graffiti (misdemeanor) and two counts of Conspiracy 2nd. He was originally charged on March the 6th with Possession of Marijuana (misdemeanor), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (misdemeanor) and Speeding. Bail is currently set at $4,500.00 unsecured and the presiding judge in the arraignment also set a curfew for Zickgraf at 8:00 p.m. It should be noted that criminal graffiti artists want their work seen and they relish in the attention they receive from their acts. Because of this, the State Police will not be releasing the images or descriptions as it pertains to the ‘tags’ of these people who have no respect or consideration for the property of others or the general public. Victims of graffiti are still encouraged to report these incidents as they occur. |
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