Thursday, October 22, 2009

Vandals accused of stealing pain'Taggers' nabbed by Walmart security with spray cans in pants, police say

Joseph Pawley

Keanan Connell
Vandals accused of stealing paint
'Taggers' nabbed by Walmart security with spray cans in pants, police say
BY TERRI SANGINITI • THE NEWS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 22, 2009
Two 19-year-old graffiti vandals were arrested Tuesday night after they were caught stuffing cans of spray paint down their pants at an Elsmere area store, state police said.

Keanan L. Connell, of the 2000 block of Franklin Ave., Marshallton, and Joseph T. Pawley, of the 700 block of Dorcaster Drive in the Sherwood Park community, each was charged with shoplifting, possession of graffiti implements and conspiracy.
Connell, a convicted high-profile tagger known as "SUD," "SKUM" and "ESQUAT," and Pawley, who tags under the names "BANG" and "ROSKO," were in the Walmart at 1251 Centerville Road about 7:40 p.m. Tuesday when they were spotted in the paint department by store security.

The paint they were taking was priced at $26.59, Senior Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh said.

When they tried to leave without paying, they were stopped at the main entrance and taken to the security office, where police were called.

Troopers found 39 cans of spray paint, five paint pens and several illegible drawings in Pawley's green 1994 Honda Civic that was in the parking lot, police said in court records.

Pawley told troopers "he was shoplifting the spray paint because he enjoys paint and he spray paints graffiti," according to court records.

He was arrested in July by Newark police for tagging on the base of the Apple Road Bridge.

To reach that location, Pawley had to stand along the CSX railroad tracks because the area is surrounded by trees with no other access, police said.

Connell was arrested in June in connection with graffiti vandalism on bridges and highway barriers across New Castle County and for his April scrawlings in the Hockessin and Yorklyn areas.

Connell told the trooper that "he is still spray painting 'ESQUAT' and 'SKUM' " in Philadelphia, police said in court records.

As a teen, Connell caused thousands of dollars in damage to overhead electronic message boards on I-95 south of Del. 141 near New Castle and on I-95 near Del. 72 near Newark.

Both were released on $1,100 unsecured bail on the shoplifting charge, pending a Dec. 4 court hearing.

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