By Nandika Doobay
Nathan DeLuna, alleged member of the "VTC" graffiti crew, was sentenced yesterday (Monday) to serve one year probation and 60 hours of community service and pay $300 in restitution fees for aiding in the vandalization of property near 1865 N. Milwaukee last August.
The VTC tag, which some say stands for "Vandalize the City" or "Vandals Taking Chicago," can be seen in numerous locations around the Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Humboldt Park neighborhoods, mostly along the Blue Line.
DeLuna, 17, of suburban Winnetka, was convicted in February of criminal damage to property and possession of spray paint. According to a report on the court hearing, police apprehended Andrew Giniat, another VTC member, in the act of defacing the Wicker Park property and found DeLuna waiting in a Mercedes-Benz, acting as a lookout. He also had spray paint in his possession.
Graffiti Removal, Pipeline file photo graffiti removal, pipeline file photo
In attendance at Monday's sentencing were many representatives from the Wicker Park community, such as 32nd Ward Alderman Waguespack, Distrct 14 Police officers, court advocates, and property owners. After seeing the large group who had come on behalf of the community, DeLuna could be heard asking a family member, "Why are all these people here, just to look at me?" to which his court-appointed public defender responded, "To put pressure on the judge."
Officer Soto of District 14 was the witness and brought three items of evidence that he claimed tied DeLuna to the crimes or affiliations with graffiti crews. Item 1 was a mugshot of the back of DeLuna's head from the night of his arrest in August. In the mugshot, the letters "VTC" can be seen etched into DeLuna's hair. The other two items were print outs of DeLuna's Facebook page, where he lists activities such as graffiti, an interest in spray cans, and made posts as late as May 12 saying that he's "getting ready 2 tag on yo trains" and that he "hopes things go good 2night and I can go paint."
DeLuna's court-appointed defender tried his best to disclaim all evidence, but it was uncertain whether the lawyer understood how Facebook works and was unable to make a case against it. As for the mugshot, DeLuna claimed the etching said "VTO" and not "VTC," to which the judged replied that it personally appeared to be a "C" to him and told DeLuna "you cannot lie your way through life." The judge then sentenced DeLuna to 1 year probation and 60 hours of community service and ordered him to pay $300 in restitution fees.
When asked if community members were pleased with the outcome of the sentencing, Alderman Waguespack said, "He was given the maximum sentence he could receive so I am satisfied with the judge's decision." He then added "we spent far too much time and resources of the community, residents, and police trying to stop Nathan DeLuna from destroying property."
--by Nandika Doobay, lunarmodule@sbcglobal.net
Note: This story appeared in the May 18, 2010 Pipeline e-newsletter, but due to space I am hosting it in its entirety here.
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Is it really necessary to post a link to the teen's facebook? I know we are all 'adults' and anti the defacing of property by young ruffians who ruin entire blocks with their anti-establishment attitude, but really? Do you find it ethical to demonize a teenager?
ReplyDeleteHe found it ethical to demonize property that isn't his, but you're right, in retrospect, maybe I should not have linked to it, though rest assured 'traditional media' would do the same. When the Bucktown Bat Beating happened, I didn't even mention the names of the victim in the pipeline, nor did I put in their photos in the pipeline as I would never want that done if I was hurt. The Trib, Sun times and all the papers took photos from Facebook.
ReplyDeleteShoot, it is too late to remove the link b/c I already sent the email. I will issue a correction next week and also an apology to the writer, Nandika, because she just referenced that they used print outs from his Facebook as evidence and I was the one that linked to it after she sent me her story.
ReplyDeleteI was able to correct it, the link no longer has the link to the FB page. Do I credit Anon for this catch, or would you prefer to reveal yourself?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI would go the way of any accredited press, and what is fair by their standards, should be fair to your blog. At 17, his name is evidently being used very publicly. Facebook evidence was attributed in the public court of law, and most probably in a currently public record as it is unknown if any court proceedings have been sealed. Thus, one would assume that going after the kid, who was in a Mercedes, and down here from Winnetka tagging the neighborhood, just might be okay.
ReplyDeletewonder who owned the mercedes?
I think the link was appropriate...please stop complaining.
ReplyDeleteIf this kids parents had done their job, he wouldn't be a social problem at age 17. Now the authorities and community have to step in to do their job.
can't always blame the parents. Sometimes kids are just assholes.
DeleteIf the kid's old enough to do the crime, then he's old enough to have his Facebook page exposed as further evidence of his guilt.
ReplyDeleteBased on the area he's from and the Mercedes, we can assume he's from a good neighborhood and has no credible excuse for this kind of behavior. Let's hope this hurts his chances of getting into a good college and otherwise teaches him a stern lesson.
Nathan DeLuna is not from Winnetka. He lives in the 800 block of Sacarmento and goes to Clemente High School. The other guy arrested with him at the time Andrew Giniat is from Winnetka. The lawyer who represented DeLuna is not a public defender. He is an attorney named Edwin Bell who also represents Eddie Garcia (SOAR glass etching case) and many other so called graffiti artist. Deluna"s facebook page also shows a friend named Jackson Hennessey another big graffiti artist who is half the Jack & Juicy team. DeLuna is nothing but a wantabee
ReplyDeleteJoe, thanks for the correction. I will put it in next week's issue. As for removing the link, I am still siding with the original Anon poster on this one.
ReplyDeleteNo problem with removing the link. Just was pointing out his friendship with othet taggers. Did you see Deluna's wall posting on his facebook page that was posted about an hour after the sentence. Sure looks like a contempt of court and all athority. He's a thug. Just my thoughts. I was one of the court advocates that followed this case from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI understand, no worries, and I initially saw your post on a South Logan Palmer message board. It's good that you were following it from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI am less riled by the contempt of authority as I am about the damage that is done to buildings and businesses in the area. These victims are in no position of authority, they are just trying to get by, especially retailers. When youths or even adult graffiti 'artists' tag a third generation dry cleaning business that is already suffering in this economy, or a small store, they are really hurting small businesses who are faced with the task of having to remove the tags. Even when the businesses get assistance from an abatement program, the money for that is coming out of their taxes anyway, so it's just a huge waste of time and resources on everyone's part.
Agreed on VTC. We are now follow Eddie Garcia. He is the graffiti guy that started etching SOAR into the windows all over the city. With glass etching the bussiness can only replace the glass or do nothing. If you walk Milwaukee Ave you will see SOAR etched into the front windows of many bussiness locations. I'm near Milwaukee and Armitage, going north I see it on windows all over Logan Square. I haven't had a chance to look south of Armitage on Milwaukee but I'm sure if I did I would find it all over. While Eddie Garcia (SOAR) can only be charged with what he was catch doing you can be sure he is respondable for much of the SOAR etching since graffiti artist rarely use someone else's signature. Thanks for publishing the VTC article.
ReplyDeleteI totally apologize for the inaccuracies!
ReplyDeleteJoe Kopera said...
ReplyDeleteThe lawyer who represented DeLuna is not a public defender. He is an attorney named Edwin Bell who also represents Eddie Garcia (SOAR glass etching case) and many other so called graffiti artist.
There is no Edwin Bell licensed to practice in Illinois. Can we get a name check on who the defense attorney is?
I think he got off easy. A year and a day would have been better. Or how about fineing his parents the 10's of thousands of dollars for the dammage he did.
ReplyDeleteI just checked my notes from the SOAR case. The lawyer's name is Eric J Bell. Sorry for the wrong 1st name. In any case he represents many defendant's in graffiti cases. He did represent Nathan DeLuna in the VTC case and he is representing Eddie Garcia in the SOAR.
ReplyDeleteOkay 1st of all dont you guys have alot more things 2 worry about then a kid who tags around wicker park..for real...did you know Spanish lords still on Milwaukee..and kings are still out on all over on damen with drugs and guns...right on ashland Harrison gents.and..jivers!!!! for real taggers!!! i so wished half of my friends turned out 2 be taggers not gang bangers...okay taggers plan on tagging stores OH WOW!!...did't hurt you mybe cost you some cash but if am not wrong the city cleans it for free....but it seems like wicker park thinks just because some white people moved in now its all good?? OMG OMG a TAGGER!!! take a look around the hoods...kings are still out there RIGHT AT THE LIQUOR STORE!! MYBE U DONT SEE THAT CAUSE YOUR TO BUSY TRYING TO CATCH LITTLE VTC TAGGERS RUNNING AROUNd WITH A MARKER!!.. !!THERES GANG BANGING!!!!! DRUG DEALING!!!SHOTTING!!! for real worry about something that is killing people not running around tagging your stores...you act like these kids come 2 your house i really wish they start doing that since you guys wanna put peoples address all over Myspace....for real i lost mad friends who did't gang bang in wicker park and your worried about taggers please grow up for real....... oh yea joe kopera you must be a moron 2 even say nathan is a wanabee you must feel like some big bad wolf!! do you even kno the kid??? for real know your stuff b4 you open your mouth....oh yea 1st a wanabee then a thug which one??? cause it seems you kno so much about him.. god wicker park makes me sick sometimes be happy from being one of the most gang banging neighborhoods around the 1990's...and now u got just a few gang bangers and some taggers...God you people make me sick........Mybe if they had guns and was killing people all over wicker park and breaking your doors!! and going in your house's then yea thats something 2 worry about...i hope these taggers keep going!!!! and more and more come so your life is such a living hell!!!! Get a life and worry about more things in wicker park like people doing coke all done Milwaukee...drug dealing...gang banging...people fighting on Milwaukee...real stuff not some spray can tags..
ReplyDeleteAnon... I certainly understand your frustrations and you're right, in the grand scheme of things and with people dealing drugs and being shot up and gangs, graffiti and tags are on the bottom of list of things hurting this city, so thank you for that reality check, however, in response to "doesn't the city clean it for free" the city actually does not clean it for free. the money used to remove graffiti comes from taxpayers.
ReplyDeletei am also sorry to hear that you've lost friends here in wicker park. i moved to logan square in 1998 and the area has definitely changed a lot since then as has the area i live in now. all white people who move to logan or wicker park are not here in hopes of gentrifying it and buying condos or million dollar single family homes. many of us are struggling to just get by and pay our rents so we can stay here.
Anonymous, use your name coward. I use mine and I'll not some white kid who just moved into the neighborhood. I've lived here going on 50 years. By the way we do follow gangbanging cases. But you wouldn't know that since you are responding to a single topic. Nathan is a highschool wanabee taggger who's on his way to be a thug. You seem to know a lot about the gangs in the area. Are you part of one? We are following many cases involving gangs including the DePaul murder case on Rockwell and the 2 ladies involved in the baseball bat attack just to name a few. By the way what are you doing for the neighborhood other then talking shit? Have a good day coward. Use your name coward.
ReplyDeletesoo he is a wanabee tagger?? how could u wanna be a tagger...am pretty sure all you have 2 do is TAG!!!...Lol wow you must be a moron...and on his way 2 be a thug because what??? he says police killa on his facebook page lol!!!!!! what a thug!!! dont worry about my name..... am a coward because i dont wanna tell some crying old man my name!! LMAO!! AND EVEN IF I DONT WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ANYWAYS!!! GO CHECK MY FACE BOOK!!! HAHAHHA!!! yea you sure act your age!!!! Yeah your working real hard on gangs am pretty sure i could walk all over the kings hood 2night and see them all over the liquor store...and nope am not a gang banger i just grew up in hood and i knoW alot about real problems.....be happy its a backpack full with spray cans then a backpack full with guns and drugs like your lovely Latin kings that really control wicker park when you are asleep.....
ReplyDeleteSure Nathan (Anonymous)! How else would you know my name. Wanabee because you didn't have the guts to climb up to the sign. Had to sit in the car as a lookout and beep the horn. Friends include Jack & Juicy, Andrew Giniat and other know taggers. Those are the tagger your nothing but a lookout, at least for now. No matter how hard you works gangs there are others around the cornor. The state DOC is loaded with them, someday you may get to call it home. We do go after them. By the way it wasn't a backpack full of spray cans, it was a Mercedies trunk full of scrap books, bolt cutters and spray cans. Be glad you only got 1 year probation, ejoy the drug testing and 60 hours of community service. Giniat, Jack & Juicy and Eddie Garcia all have are felony or felony charges pending. Hope you enjoy paying your lawyer. I'm sure he loves taking your money.
ReplyDeleteokay lol how else would i kno your name its says your name when you write comments!!! haha omg your so stupid..lol do you even know what is nathans tagger name?? lol
ReplyDeletebtw i know nathan...lol
No stupid. Yes my name is here but it also appears on Nathan facebook page posted on 5/21/10 the same date you posted the message here. The thing is that Nathan didn't know my name so how could it appear there unless you are a friend of his, manybe Jose Ortiz the guy who agreed with his comment or just another tag buddy of his. It doesn't make any difference what Nathan tag name is. Crimial damage to property is a crime whether your VTC, DTC, WICKED, WERE, SOAR or whatever. OMG you so stupid LOL.
ReplyDeleteHi folks- Joe, Anonymous, whoever.. Please, if possible, take the fight elsewhere. This blog is just where I host extra information that is too lengthy for me to include in the newsletter because otherwise each issue would just scroll on and on and on. the "read more" link allows me to post something in its entirety here at streetsofwicker with an excerpt from it in the actual newsletter. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteJoe you should look into getting your own life...stop checking peoples facebooks all day you old crying man
ReplyDeleteShouldn't you be looking into Viagra websites not facebook lol
ok I'm done
I kinda have to agree...Why do people get so worked up over graffiti? It adds...character and color to otherwise dull and drab walls...There are so many other, more serious things for cops to be worrying about. The time and tax dollars should go to catching more drug dealers and the like... Not some teen with a spray can.
ReplyDeleteI see he is tagging again on Western. What a Douche
ReplyDeleteThose who aren't actually contributing to a neighborhood, its safety and habitability, may see tagging as no big deal. But as a business owner, tagging on a storefront reduces your approachability and image of safety to a consumer.
ReplyDeleteWithout legitimate consumers, a business cannot succeed and, as a result, the neighborhood in which it is in suffers.
I know this comment is a year too late on this blog post. But the dips#!+s posting that tagging and gangs aren't interconnected in terms of neighborhood growth are simply idiotic. Residents of a neighborhood DON'T HAVE TO ACCEPT gang violence or vandalism as fact in their neighborhood. FIGHT IT! And don't stop fighting it!
Neighborhoods are in constant flux, constantly changing in demographic. Demonizing "gentrification" solves nothing. And punks coming from one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city, to inflict damage on a neighborhood, A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE, only try to make better lives for themselves, in terms of crime AND economics, are sick, sad, pathetic, lonely bastards.
Keep fighting for a safer neighborhood and a perfect place to call home. It's the American dream, afterall.
graffiti wont stop
ReplyDeletecry me a river....cry me a river....cry me a river....
HELLO THERE MURDERS!!!! THERES STILL GANG BANGERS!!!! DID U SEE ALL THE SPANISH LORDS ON WESTERN ON THE PURTO RICAN PRIDE DAY!!! AND YOU WORRY ABOUT A TAG ON WESTERN!!!!! HAHAHAHAH OMG YUPIES PLZ LET ME CHECK YOU!!! WORRY ABOUT YOUR KIDS OR MYBE YOU GETTING SHOT BY A GANG BANGER!!! DONT WORRY ABOUT YOUR KIDS OR YOU SEEING A TAGG...MYBE TAGGERS SHOULD BE MORE LIKE GANG BANGERS AT LEAST THEY WONT GET PUT ON BLAST LIKE TAGGERS hahhahaha MAN CHICAGO SHOULD PUT SOME TAX $$$$$$ INTO WORKING ON THE BLACK HOODS ITS LIKE 1980's out there!!!! DRUGS,GANGS, THEY POST OUT AND NOBODY SAYS A WORD!!!! YOU TELL THEM GET A JOB AND THERE NOT ONE JOB AROUND THE HOOD FOR THEM 2 WORK AT!!!! LIKE COME ON.....taxs payers should wanna put there money into helping the world!!! from killing and drugs!!! but oh yea i forgot thats not in wicker park who gives a f$#k right?
You guys are all stupid. Lmao worrying about a tagger saying he's a thug. I user to chill with real thugs out there. Tags should honestly be the least if your worries. How about the guns and drugs? And don't blame it on the parents must of my guys had real great parents and we still gang banged cause we loved it. But that is how dumb you yuppies are, thinking you know everything. Sheltering your kids from everything only makes it worse.
ReplyDeletePlus tags are a form of art you dumb shits. How about bullets coming through a house now tours something to worry about
ReplyDeleteYup I gang banged in buck town for atleast 8 years.
ReplyDeleteHey and joe smoe. All my years of gang banging, I never once had one of our members as a former tagger. Is kind of dumb on your part to actually think the taggers are thugs? That means you cant talk the difference between an artist and a gang member. I'm a former gang member, and not once did any yuppie stop us from doing our thing. If anything I would try to keep it cool. So worry about something more important than being a dick. Life is too short guy. To worry about a seventeen year old kid. Remember back when you were that age? I bet you were huffing paint like the rest of the people your age that came from the neighbor hood. And I'm sure you hung out with maybe the jousters? I don't know don't care. But don't for one second act like you were never young, and forgot where you came from. So act like a guy your she should. Watch a bears game drink a miller light bro. Smoke a joint. Relax chill be easy. And worry about tote own kids. Be happy.
ReplyDeletefines and jail time will not settle anything, in fact it encourages artist to do more, to be true to themselves and not give in. as a retired graffiti artist myself, i do believe there should be some minor consequences for defacement to property,hell make them clean it themselves and whatever products they need to remove it should come out of their own pockets. most graffiti artist just want more opportunities to paint walls,not to deface property, if there is no legal outlet for these artist then they will find a way to do what the love. oh yeah and if tax payers are paying to clean up graffiti then that means if the graffiti artist has a job he is paying for all the graffiti in the city already. im choosing to post anonymous to avoid harassment.
ReplyDeleteFuck you bitch ass vandalisers when I catch you I'm making you choke on your spray can or markers. I promise you!!!!
ReplyDeletepolice apprehended Andrew Giniat, another VTC member, in the act of defacing the Wicker Park property and found DeLuna waiting in a Mercedes-Benz, chicago signs
ReplyDelete