TEENS HELP REMOVE GRAFFITI FROM WALLS.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LAKE LOS ANGELES - Teens from Littlerock, Sun Village and Lake Los Angeles spent their Saturday morning painting over graffiti-covered walls in their communities as part of the fourth annual Graffiti Paint Out.

The teens grabbed five-gallon buckets of paint and covered gang signs and tagger's monikers in an effort to beautify their communities as well as raise a sense of pride in themselves.

``We really wanted to do this so we could help out the community,'' said Littlerock High School student Jimmy Zepeda, 16.

``These kids get to see firsthand what other kids are doing and in seeing that, learn what not to do,'' said James Mims, graffiti abatement director for the Sun Village Chamber of Commerce.

The event is organized each year by Community Oriented Policing Deputy Brian Torsney, and since its inception has become one of the most effective ways of battling graffiti.

Donations for the event included everything from paint and brushes from the city of Palmdale and the Sun Village Chamber of Commerce to free burgers and drinks for the kids from the Pearblossom Burger King and the Lancaster Coca-Cola distribution plant.

The graffiti abatement service is provided free of charge to business or homeowners.

The locations for the event are selected several days prior as Sun Village Chamber of Commerce members and deputies scan the area for ``tagged'' walls or doors.

Deputy Steve Sorenson, a Lake Los Angeles resident, jumped on the chance to get involved in the program after Torsney brought the idea to him. The cleanup is normally done in Littlerock and Sun Village and has never before included Lake Los Angeles.

The Sheriff's Department has typically taken a proactive approach to fighting graffiti, working closely with the cities to get the cleanup done as quickly as possible, Sorenson said.

Sheriff's graffiti investigators do, however, have to take photographs and log the location, date and time of the vandalism before any cleanup can begin, which is a full-time commitment, officials said.

The cataloging of graffiti helps investigators track down the vandal and prosecute. The tagger can then be charged and ordered to pay restitution for the damage estimated to be about $2.90 a square foot. In Lake Los Angeles, taggers commonly scrawl on 2,000 or 3,000 square feet of wall space, officials said.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Teens in Littlerock erase graffiti on a fence on 110th Street East as part of the Graffiti Paint Out. The event was organized by Community Oriented Policing Deputy Brian Torsney.

(2) Littlerock resident Kiara Sarrow, 8, helps paint over graffiti on Saturday.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer