Authorities Seek 'Prolific' Tagger RUETS, Who They Say Has Done Major Damage to City and MTA Property

"RUETS" (Screenshot)

A 28-year-old man thought to be a member of numerous tagging crews and responsible for thousands of dollars of damage to city and Metro property is wanted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Tomas Benson, who tags under the moniker "RUETS," was not present at his home when deputies served a search warrant there last week, and the authorities are still hoping to speak with him.

Benson is thought to be a member of AL (At Large), PDB (Pros Don’t Boast) and NE (NorthEast), and is affiliated with MSK (Mad Society Kings).

“These taggers are not misguided kids,” said Detective Sergeant Ron Marquez of the LASD. “These suspects are in their 20’s and 30’s. They are adults who pass themselves off as artists, when in reality, they’re criminals who commit vandalism crimes that cost property owners and taxpayers a lot of money to clean up.”

The LASD say Benson is behind an estimated $8,000 worth of damage to property.

Authorities say they found "evidence of graffiti writing" at his home, but Benson has not been located. They are asking that anyone with information about Benson call them at 888-950-7233.

004 street team presents :: RUETS from JessWeos on Vimeo.

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By Lindsay William-Ross in News on September 20, 2011 10:00 AM

Comments [rss]

whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Detective Sergeant Ron Marquez's pension is the problem. Not graffiti.

James Knox-Davies

"They are adults who pass themselves off as artists, when in reality, they’re criminals who commit vandalism crimes that cost property owners and taxpayers a lot of money to clean up"

Can't you be both?

David_Barron

And, LA mayor trumps that crime is down. A while ago, FBI stats listed 64 cities with a population of 100,000 or more with the worst crime stats. City of Oakland, Ca was listed at the bottom, at number 64. Los Angeles, followed not to far behind at number 48.

Abolish LA mayor's 'anti-gang' program, the Community Redevelopment Agency and use some of these hundreds of $millions$ to increase police staff to 12,000 officers. You don't wait till crime escalates to hire additional officers. A strong police presence deters crime. The public would rather see a flood of officers on the streets than hoodlums placing neighborhoods in a state of intense fear.

Suppressing the out-of-control graffiti and gang crime, and abolishing the City's business tax, which drives employers out of town, would brighten up communities, and would begin to attract employers to open up shop here and hire our unemployed.