Photo by Pat Ratliff

An abandoned home on the Mukilteo Speedway proved too inviting to an unknown "tagger." Some onlookers argue it's the work of gangs. Others dismiss it as mere vandalism by bored youth.

 

While driving to the 7-Eleven on the Mukilteo Speedway on Aug. 22, resident Cory Bente saw something colorful from the corner of his eye.  

 

What he saw was sprayed graffiti on an unoccupied house across the street from the Marriot Hotel with the tag ‘Teasr’ or Teaser and the message “property values zip.”

 

The Mukilteo Police Department reported the vandalism on the 8500 block of the Mukilteo Speedway about two weeks ago, said Mukilteo police Cmdr. Chuck Macklin.

 

The homeowner was also contacted, and plans were made to paint over it as soon as possible, according to the Mukilteo Public Works department.

 

“We don’t want graffiti to take off in the community, which is why it’s important to get it painted over as soon as we can,” said Mayor Joe Marine.  “The biggest deterrent is to paint over it.”

 

But Bente disagrees.  He said painting over the graffiti won’t do the city much good.

 

Bente has studied gang culture and behavior for the past two years, including their use of graffiti.  Decoding graffiti is a hobby.

 

He believes that the graffiti is from a gang, and that the gang is using it to send a message to the community.

 

What’s the message?  By Bente’s theories, the graffiti is saying “We’ve moved in, we’re here to stay, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

 

“That’s their billboard, that’s their newspaper, that’s their Internet,” Bente said.  “They’re basically advertising to the community that they’re here.”

 

Macklin said there is no evidence to suggest the graffiti is gang-related, and that the case is under investigation as vandalism.

 

In these cases, he said, police send photos to agencies in Snohomish County, including the Regional Intelligence Group and gang investigators, in hopes of identifying and arresting the tagger.

 

No arrest for the vandalism on the unoccupied house has been made.

 

Macklin said most of the vandalism in the city is from kids with lots of free time on their hands, so there’s usually an increase in damage to public or private property in the summer.

 

“We’ve got graffiti,” he said.  “As long as there’s been a town here, there’s been vandalism.”

 

When graffiti occurs, the city’s Public Works department quickly covers or removes damage if it is on public property, usually with paint or a pressure washer.  

 

With graffiti found on private property, as in this case, the department sends a letter to the owner requesting its prompt coverage or removal.

 

Public Works Director Larry Waters said that while graffiti is nothing new to Mukilteo, it is still very rare.

 

Waters said his department cleaned up six or seven cases of graffiti in the last year, and that half of those cases were in Lighthouse Park.

 

“It seem like there will be nothing, nothing, nothing and then a rash of it, maybe something on the restrooms at 92nd Street Park that needs to be power washed off,” Marine said.

 

The mayor said he doesn’t think the graffiti was put there by a gang; just probably by a bored kid.

 

“We’ve been fortunate Mukilteo has not had a big issue with gangs,” he said.

 

Bente admits that his analyses of the graffiti are only theories – he could be wrong, he could be right. 

 

He just hopes that by speaking up about the graffiti, he’s helping to increase awareness and prevention of gangs in Mukilteo.

 

But what’s on that house doesn’t look like it’s from someone who was goofing off, he said.

 

“This piece is not a kid playing a joke,” he said.  “It’s not just vandalism for the sake of vandalism.  It’s a slap in the face to the community.”

 

If it is a sign of gangs in the city, problems with drugs, violence, theft and more vandalism could follow, Bente said.

 

“The police department needs to step their game up, the mayor needs to step his game up,” he said.  “Graffiti can only mean one thing: things aren’t getting better.”