POLICE ARREST PAIR IN TAGGING TEENS THOUGHT TO BE AMONG MOST ACTIVE.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Two teenagers who investigators say are among the most prolific taggers in Santa Clarita were arrested Thursday after search warrants were served at their homes, one of them in the upscale Tesoro del Valle neighborhood.

A 17-year old student of Bowman High School and a 16-year old Saugus High student, members of the Evil Intention crew of taggers, were taken into custody by sheriff's deputies, who confiscated a variety of markers, spray cans, binders and computer hard drives during their searches, Deputy Bob Schneider said. The suspects were not identified because they are minors.

``This was hidden in his closet,'' Schneider said, indicating a long strip of cardboard covered with gang-style insignia in a rainbow of colors found inside the Tesoro house. ``He had painted behind the closet door and inside on one wall. That should have been a red flag for Mom and Dad.

``These were two of the most active taggers in the area.''

The pair left graffiti on Magic Mountain Parkway, Sierra Highway, Soledad Canyon Road and McBean Parkway, he said.

``They've done the bridges and paseos and the wash; they bombed Rio Norte Junior High (with graffiti) over Christmas vacation and the large water aqueduct pipeline next to Saugus High. They've even gone as far as Pico Rivera,'' Schneider said.

Flipping through a confiscated ``piece book' taken in the raid, Schneider found several examples of monikers and works seen at various locations around Santa Clarita.

``They practice drawing the same thing over and over, so they can do it fast when they go out to tag,'' he said. ``Sometimes they give the book to friends to add their styles for reference.''

A bag of spray nozzles with varying widths, which Schneider said are readily available on the Internet, and several etching tools were taken in the raid.

``We've had some places along Town Center Drive get etched and they do it on the bus windows,'' he said. Schneider said local transit authorities recently repaired more than $20,000 in damage from etchings and tagging on buses.

``Parents are in denial,'' sheriff's Capt. Patti Minutello said of parents as she surveyed the evidence. ``They don't want to know what's in their kids' rooms. They'd rather be their friend, but they're not giving them the attention they need to stay out of trouble.''

Schneider, who is on a long-term loan from the sheriff's Transit Services unit in the San Fernando Valley, said the pair first came to his attention earlier this month when four juveniles were detained in the area of the Santa Clara riverbed in Canyon Country where a significant amount of graffiti was found.

He added that this tagging crew, believed to have 25 members, is affiliated with the Brown Familia gang in Canyon Country.

``If you're a tagging crew worth your weight, you get the backing of a gang so they let you tag in their area,'' Schneider explained. ``But the gang puts restrictions on them, like having the crew tag with their name or having them steal items for other gang members. Even though taggers aren't gang members, they are still 'jumped in' for initiation.''

Despite Thursday's arrests, deputies warn that at least a dozen more tagging crews are working the streets of the area, and that doesn't count ``one-ers'' who Schneider said ``don't like the politics of joining a crew.''

The two juveniles will be charged with felony vandalism, charges that carry possible prison sentences.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com