Still No Indication Blue Graffiti is Gang-Related

Enumclaw police made an arrest following a number of tagging incidents in September, but it doesn't appear to have stopped blue graffiti from showing up at various locations around the city this past weekend. (see blotters from this , as well as )

Investigators still don't believe, however, that the tagging is related to gang activity, police Lt. Bob Huebler said on Wednesday.

Spurts of tagging incidents occur in Enumclaw once in a while, he told the Courier-Herald last month.

Because the investigation remains ongoing, Huebler said he couldn't discuss too much about this case though there are similarities in the handwriting. The words "what are you looking at" were found on a building on Wells Street last Friday.

Businesses and other property owners who have been victims of the graffiti were encouraged to quickly remove the tagging in order to discourage more tagging, Huebler said.

Though not a violent offense, tagging is costly for property owners who must pay for removal. Police have asked the property owners to quantify how much they spent to paint over the tagging and restore their properties, and that amount would be used to ask for restitution in the event of an arrest and conviction, Huebler said.

That way, the offender(s) would have to pay for the damage they caused, he said.

If you have information about this recent rash of tagging offenses, please call Enumclaw police's anonymous tip line at 360-615-5707.