3 graffiti suspects arrested; wanted to 'get on the news'

Deputies arrested one adult and two teenagers Monday night in connection to the spray-painting of more than 100 eastern Hillsborough County homes Sunday morning.

The suspects told investigators that they did it because "they wanted to get on the news."

Detectives arrested Aaron Dennis Green, 21, of Lithia, and two 17-year-old boys and charged all three with 80 plus counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief. The names of the teenagers weren't released because they were charged with misdemeanors.

Detectives received an anonymous tip that led to the identification of the suspects involved in the graffiti, the sheriff's office said.

When detectives arrived at the home of one of the juveniles arrested, all the suspects were there. They had seen the news coverage and were trying to get their stories straight, the sheriff's office said.

Three of the four were arrested without incident. The fourth person is an adult witness who was in the car and didn't participate in the spray-painting. He won't be charged, said sheriff's Lt. Michael Willette.

The group has been spray-painting homes, street signs and subdivision fronts since September in the Brandon area, Willette said.

"They would step it up every time to get more notoriety," Willette said.

The surveillance photos released today were key to the investigation, Willette said. Once the photos of the suspects were released, the sheriff's office started to get tips, he said.

The case remains under investigation. Investigators are looking for more juveniles involved in the spray-painting, Willette said.

"They are not like a gang," Willette said. "They are just neighborhood guys."

In most of the vandalism incidents Sunday morning, graffiti including an expletive was left on garage doors. Some of the graffiti included racial slurs as well as a swastika.

At one of the scenes, investigators found evidence that led them to the Valrico Walmart, where one of the individuals in the surveillance photo bought four cans of spray paint just after midnight Saturday, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies said they are aware of 115 incidents of spray-painting done between midnight Saturday and 4 a.m. Sunday. They include a spray-painted car and a spray-painted sheet draped over Interstate 4 at Kingsway Road.

"I just couldn't believe it," said Lisa Perry, a 17-year resident of Valrico Lakes who awoke Sunday to find her garage door defaced. "It's the first time anything like this has happened here. I just can't believe people would do something like this."

Patrick Fisher said that when he arrived home about 4 a.m. Sunday, his family's garage door had been tagged and his father's Toyota Tundra spray-painted.

"We've been living here six years, and there's never been a problem in this neighborhood before," Fisher said. "It's usually very quiet."

Richard Blair said he would love to get his hands on whoever spray-painted his garage door. "Makes you want to. ... They need a horsewhipping is what they need," he said.