Lakewood Police Department Charge Ten in Graffiti Damage

[Jim O'Bryan]

Lakewood Police Department Charge Ten in Graffiti Damage

Over the past several months the Lakewood Police Department has investigated a marked increase in graffiti damage in the central and western parts of the city. The nature and locations of the graffiti indicated that most of the damage was the result of the same criminals. The Lakewood Police Department heard from many in the business community and residents about the damage and the negative effect it had on the community. Using Hot Spot Analysis the Lakewood Police Department identified the areas with the most recent damage and the likely days and times the damage was occurring. The Special Operations Unit initiated a special detail to direct efforts to arrest the suspects.

On January 28th Officer Kevin Fischer of the Special Operations Unit arrested a juvenile Lakewood male spray painting a dumpster behind a Detroit Ave. business. On February 3rd Special Operations officers arrested 18yr old Lakewood resident Joshua Craighead after committing a theft. Craighead has markers in his possession commonly used to create graffiti. Further investigation into these activities resulted in the February 4th arrest of a Lakewood Juvenile male for graffiti. Building upon information learned the Lakewood Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for a 21yr old Lauderdale Ave. resident Jason Frederick. On February 15th off duty Patrol Officer Patrick Cantlin observed 19yr old Lakewood resident Kyle McCarty damaging a Detroit Ave. business with graffiti, leading to his arrest. Further information led to the arrest of 20yr old, Olmstead Falls resident Patrick Corrigan. Continued investigation by the Lakewood Police Department Detective Bureau resulted in another arrest on February 25th of a Lakewood juvenile male. On February 26th two Lakewood Juveniles and one Cleveland juvenile were arrested after being observed spray painting a Madison Ave. business and Lakewood High School.

All of the juveniles will be filed on in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court with multiple cases of criminal damaging. Corrigan and Craighead have pled guilty in Lakewood Municipal Court and sentenced to jail by Judge Patrick Carroll for criminal damaging. McCarty has pled to criminal damaging and is awaiting sentencing. Frederick’s case is still pending.

Investigation revealed that most all of the suspects knew each other or of each other in a loosely affiliated sub-culture that promotes damaging property through graffiti. None of the graffiti was gang related. The Lakewood Police Department worked closely with Inspectors from the Lakewood Building Department and the Lakewood Prosecutors Office in bringing theses cases to court. This was an excellent example of a team effort in the Lakewood Police Department as members from the Patrol, Special Operations, and Detective Divisions all worked cooperatively to make these arrests and put an end to this series of damage.


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[Charlie Page]

Thank you Kevin Fischer, Patrick Cantlin and the rest of the LPD! Nice work!

[dl meckes]

I'm glad that there was such great police work and cooperation that led to these arrests.

I'm still having a difficult time processing this whole picture. Ten people, ages 18-20, are evidently attempting to outdo each other with graffiti bravura? And one of them was from Olmsted Falls?

I guess since TPing houses has been sanitized, the ante has been upped.

And this isn't a gang, but a group of people who "knew each other or of each other in a loosely affiliated sub-culture that promotes damaging property through graffiti". Is this closer to the Sharks or Jets? (And for a walk down memory lane, Sharks referred to "sharkskin" suits.)

Okay, who "promotes damaging property through graffiti"? So they only want to do graffiti to mess with people's minds?

Were these the ruffians who blatantly disrespected Ward 2 Council Representative Tom Bullock?