Welcome again to another edition of Paperwork Wednesday, our Wednesday segment featuring paperwork and electronic files relating to our numerous past legal cases. All of the paperwork is from cases that are not current and have been closed. The documents in Paperwork Wednesday include multiple CD’s (that include digital files and records from multiple email providers), Search Warrants, Protective Orders, Complaint Reports, Phone Records, Texts, PEN registers, etc. These files were made possible by the New York District Attorney’s Office and the warrants they obtained for various individuals.
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First and foremost we are consistently surprised to many of the stories were hear from other graffiti writters concerning the “Vandal Squad”, or what ever other graffiti-related police they encounter. At no point during our arrests were either of us shown any photos of anyone else’s graffiti or anyone’s warrants or paperwork by police officers. It really makes us wonder what people run their mouths about to get to the point where police are showing them photos and shooting the breeze about other people’s business. When arrested, all you need to do is provide your name and ask for a lawyer. There is no conversation to be had beyond that.
Some of this may sound obvious, however you will be very surprised as to how often people fail to realize that IF AT ANY POINT, you find your self in handcuffs for any reason, you do not have to respond to any questions that police ask you. We suggest informing them of your personal information as far as government name and whatever bullshit address you would like to give them. If you refrain from giving this information you will be sitting in jail until authorities can figure out who you really are (ie: a long time).
Often, after being arrested police will attempt to get you to sign some sort of statement. They will often tell you what you did “isn’t a big deal”, and if you just cop to one charge, they won’t charge you with anything else. They might even offer to let you go home right then and there if you sign a statement, and threaten that if you don’t sign, they will go even harder on you. Remember during an arrest and interrogation police officers can and will lie to you, they are not breaking any law in doing so.
It is in your best interest NOT to write or sign any statements. If you do your a strait up toy, and don’t deserve to be writing graffiti. At no point can a police officer ever make you a deal. They do not have the ability to ensure you of anything in the courts. They merely arrest individuals and assist in building cases. Anything beyond that is left to the District Attorney, your lawyer, and the Judge. Police officers hold NO POWER in regards to “agreements” or anything of the sort. So there is ABSOLUTLEY, NO REASON to talk to them. They can not and will not help you. It is not their job to help you. In fact, if you are breaking the law, it is pretty much their job to fuck you over. By getting you to sign a statement admitting to even just one thing, it helps authorities build a case on you, and opens the floodgates for future incitements and arrest warrants.
Global Solutions
Often in graffiti cases with long term investigations, writers face charges from multiple counties and jurisdictions. For example: In New York writters can be charged with cases in Manhattan, Queens,the Bronx and Brooklyn. These are separate counties, and as such, they carry separate sentences. With a proper lawyer you can attempt to reach a “Global Solution” . This is when your lawyer and the D.A.’s of all concerned counties agree to one sentence, run concurrently. Global solutions can only be made within state lines. For Example: If you have multiple cases in New York, a global solution can not be reached with other cases in Boston. The only way this is possible is if you are in Federal Courts.
A very interesting dynamic of a graffiti case is that often an offender is not charged with every tag they have done in a city. To cover your ass from future legal problems you absolutely MUST inform your lawyer to make sure that as part of your plea, prosecutors agree to not go forward with any additional charges concerning incidents that occurred before your indictment (as seen in the last paragraph of the paperwork below). Without such an agreement from the DA, authorities can (and very likely will) arrest you after you receive/serve your sentence, and run you back through the system all over again on “new” charges. This HAS and WILL continue to happened to writers who do not seek out proper legal representation.
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*Above are actual Supreme Court Minutes (they are the word for word transcript of what was said in court recorded by a court reporter) SCI stands for Supreme Court Indictment
Unless your plea states something similar to the above paperwork, you probably should reconsider taking it. A plea bargain is supposed to, in some way, benefit both parties involved. The court system is benefited by not having to spend the time, money and resources involved with a jury trial. If you are at the point where you are having to plead guilty, the only way you can really benefit is by minimizing your losses. Why dig your hole even deeper by leaving yourself open to further prosecution.
The long and short of it is, if your gonna write graffiti (or do anything illegal, for that matter) know how to handle yourself when things get hectic. Have a plan. Have a lawyer. If you are arrested, don’t say or do anything without consulting with him. Oh, and if your the type who’s ready to sign a statement because you don’t wanna spend the night in a precinct because you’re afraid to miss work the next day, well then maybe you’re in the wrong profession.
