Jonathan Choe Profile picture
Discovery Institute Senior Journalism Fellow. NEWS TIP: jchoe@discovery.org, *Vids branded "DI" represent Discovery Institute. Other views expressed are my own.

Dec 12, 2022, 15 tweets

CHARGES EXPECTED TO BE FILED TODAY: Accused graffiti vandals Casey Cain and Jose G. Betancourth are facing felony level charges for allegedly going on a tagging rampage across parts of #Seattle. Cain(EAGR/EAGER) made bail, but Betancourth(SATN/SATAN) remains behind bars.

GRAFFITI TURF WAR? Cain and Betancourth's arrest sent shockwaves throughout #Seattle's graffiti community. The duo was seen as "untouchable" since their work was so prolific. But they also have enemies. The word "TOY" is tagged over some of EAGR/EAGER's work. Sign of DISRESPECT.

DISSING EACH OTHER: If you see "TOY" tagged over another tag, it basically means they think your work sucks. But some graffiti artists say EAGR/EAGER is a "TOY" because he selfishly took up valuable #Seattle real estate and did not leave room for others.
graffiti.fandom.com/wiki/Toy

SERIOUS CHARGES: King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office says graffiti may not seem like big deal, but collectively, duo allegedly cause more than $100K in damage, especially hurting small biz owners in #Chinatown-ID, on the hook for cleaning tags.

THEY GOT EM: Police immediately responded and made arrests without incident. #Seattle

EAGR/EAGER: Police say Cain has a tattoo that says "EAGER" and allegedly admitted to tagging up the building. #Seattle

SATN/SATAN: Betancourth told officers he was a mural painter. He was also wanted on a $750K warrant. #Seattle

WASHINGTON'S MOST WANTED LIST: Authorities say Betancourth, aka SATAN, also has ties to Yakima, WA. #Seattle
q13fox.com/washingtons-mo…

TOO EAGR/EAGER: Earlier this summer, look what happened to @SeattlePD mobile precinct in downtown #Seattle. That tag is everywhere.

THEY LOVE CID: The tagger duo hit up Chinatown-ID/Little Saigon on the regular. Nearby Central District as well. #Seattle @MayorofSeattle This was back in May when I saw this. 👇🏽

CONSTANTLY CLEANING: @MayorofSeattle
and city teams have been consistently going out and painting over tags. But keeping up with these prolific vandals remains a challenge. #Seattle

DECLARING WAR ON GRAFFITI: In October,
@MayorofSeattle doubled down on WAR ON GRAFFITI. Then a massive mural along I-5 on @wsdot property went up mocking the Mayor. Unclear who's behind it. But recently, others tagged over it.#seattlesnow

KEEPING HIS WORD: Back in April, @MayorofSeattle held press conference, asking for state help as well and vowing to make a difference. EAGR/EAGER'S arrest THURSDAY, huge first step sending message GRAFFITI vandalism will no longer be tolerated. #Seattle

REMEMBER THIS? I confronted these graffiti vandals back in April at Cal Anderson Park. Then one of them came after me. #Seattle

NASTY GRAFFITI CULTURE: A lot of the messaging promotes violence and threats. Cal Anderson Park remains a hot spot. But I have never seen EAGR/EAGER or SATAN/SATN tags in this area. They're heavily in CID, Downtown, and Central District. #Seattle

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