PORT TOWNSEND — Three alleged graffiti “taggers” were detained at Fort Worden State Park earlier this month after rangers said they found them creating an underground mural at Battery Kinzie, on the beach near the Point Wilson Lighthouse.
Rangers identified two of the men as Ernest Zameo-Tadeo, 18, of Tacoma and Zakery Rivera, 19, of Steilacoom. A 17-year-old from Steilacoom was not identified because he is a juvenile.
No citations will be issued until the appropriate charges are determined, according to Fort Worden State Park Manager Brian Hageman.
Once the charges are determined, they will be forwarded to the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney, Hageman said.
A professional painter’s initial estimate for repairs was $1,800, Hageman said.
This is the fourth incident of high-volume tagging this calendar year, Hageman said.
No citations have been issued, he said.
“We have volunteers who are painting over the graffiti and getting the buildings back to their original state, but this is difficult because the graffiti paint is a bright color and takes several coats to hide,” Hageman said.
On Oct. 3, park rangers said they found the three in black hoodies with a large supply of paint in one of the battery’s isolated rooms. They were working from a sketch, rangers said.
The room, which measured about 40 feet by 30 feet with a 10-foot ceiling, had three walls covered by orange paint and letters spelling “Suerte,” which means “fortune” or “luck” in Spanish, according to a report filed by Ranger M’Lee Barlow.
Barlow said she saw a man rolling orange paint on the gun emplacement wall, while two others were spraying letters onto the wall.
In their possession were three backpacks and a bag with paint remnants, she said.
Barlow said 30 aerosol cans were confiscated along with 1 gallon of orange paint with three-quarters of the paint used, one roller, several paint can caps, two bags of latex purple gloves and a notebook with pages of preliminary drawings.
Hageman said it is important to cover graffiti when they’re discovered.
“Whenever we see graffiti in a bathroom, we need to do what we can to get rid of it immediately, or it will grow,” he said.
“If we let it stay there, it looks like we don’t care,” he continued.
“When a facility looks good, people tend to respect it. If it looks poor, it can attract vandals and taggers.”
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
