Asheville police: Man arrested for tagging 19 properties

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Travis_Schuett_2014Press release here. This arrest follows increased community attention and concern about graffiti in Asheville. The suspect has been charged with property damage:

On March 22nd, 2014 at approximately 8:22 PM, an officer with the Asheville Police Department observed Travis Schuett, 25, of Asheville, writing on a box attached to utility pole at Clingman Ave. and Hilliard Ave. The officer continued to watch Schuett as he proceeded southwest “tagging” 19 different properties and signs along the way. The tag of “SUVI” written in black, white, and purple paint has been a major eyesore in the Central Business District, River Arts District, and Haywood Street Business District for months.

In addition to increased police patrols, City staff members across the organization have been working with business owners and community leaders to address the graffiti problem. Efforts are aimed at both immediate and mid-to-long term solutions.

The first and most important action to take when observing someone “tagging” or damaging property is to report it immediately. The Asheville Police Department number is 828-252-1110. Buncombe County Crime Stoppers is 828-255-5050.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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47 Comments

  1. D.Dial March 28, 2014

    Consequences are a bitch.

    Reply
  2. justsaying March 26, 2014

    Man the pitchforks and torches came out for this story, didn’t it? Are all of you police academy dropouts? Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty”? Shame on all of you. And to everyone saying “he was caught with materials…they saw him do it…etc.etc.etc.”…because the APD have alwayssss been truthful, forthright and honest in all the work they do, right? Maybe the “materials” he had in his backpack were for his job? Who usually doesn’t have markers or pens in their backpack? All the evidence they have is circumstantial at best, and until they provide some type of proof that the officer actually did witness him do it, its word versus word. Also, maybe save the snide comments about physical appearance until you aren’t sitting behind a keyboard? Real tough guy you are. God forbid I ever end up on trial and have any of you on a jury of my “peers”…

    Reply
    1. Nate March 27, 2014

      As far as I could tell, the only comments about his appearance were to point out that he looks like a majority of Asheville’s white adult male population. How is that snide?

      And while police officers obviously are capable of deception and dishonesty, just like all the rest of us are, calling an eyewitness report by a police officer “circumstantial evidence” is pretty comical.

      Reply
      1. justsaying March 28, 2014

        I was referencing the one comment that was made, hence why I called him a tough guy, not guys.

        And yes, because police officers have never lied about someones actions or planted evidence on anyone before, ever…I’d be more inclined to believe the officer’s statement if he wasn’t alone when the arrest happened. Don’t most police cars have dash cams? If he did it, surely they must have caught him on video if the officer was watching it, right?

        Reply
        1. Nate March 28, 2014

          You realize that your blanket suspicion of police is just as generalized and ludicrous as a blanket assumption that they’re always telling the truth, right? And what makes you so sure that the officer *doesn’t* have video?

          Reply
  3. D.S. March 25, 2014

    Its time for the workers/owners earning their wages in the buildings where these entitled “artists” are scribbling (begging for attention) to bash back. The time is coming.

    Reply
    1. D.S. March 25, 2014

      For the record, I am not advocating violence, just the protection of buildings from defacement through presence and awareness.

      Reply
    2. Santa March 25, 2014

      I agree, D.S. If property owners documented that “SUZI” painted their property and then had to hire someone to re-paint their various defaced property, they could then take the police-identified “SUZI” painter to small claims court to recoup expenses. One wall wouldn’t be a whole lot of money but it adds up if a lot of affected people did this. It would be so many more civil judgements on top of multiple misdemeanors. I think word would get out among these dips that there are consequences. It might act as a deterrent. As I manage property items that were tagged by “SUZI” Travis Schuett and I am having to repaint several coats over his tags, I will go first. See you in small claims court Travis!

      Reply
      1. Santa March 25, 2014

        By the way, the burden of proof is pretty light in small claims court and court costs can be added to the amount your tag “artist” will have to pay. Document your costs. Take photos of your tagged property, get some photos of the “SUZI” tag officially credited to Travis Schuett and obtain the police report that is online here: https://apdp2c.buncombecounty.org/viewreport.aspx?id=635313658159576276

        Reply
      2. JT March 27, 2014

        This idea, I like this idea.

        My beef with tagging has always been that it affects the people whose property is being tagged. The same tags I see on street signs, I see on buildings. Not a victimless crime.

        Reply
  4. Katherine March 25, 2014

    I’ve seen his alleged “work”. Banksy he is not. Basquiat he is not. Not even in the same league. If he thinks he’s got the same “it” factor as Banksy or Baquiat then he is sorely mistaken.

    Reply
  5. murphy March 25, 2014

    Those calling for his “head on a stick” should remember that the NC General Assembly pass legislation in the last session that prohibits municipalities from enacting legislation that is more strict than State existing state law.

    The current AVL ordinance may already be questionable as a result of that action in Raleigh.

    Reply
  6. Cwaster March 25, 2014

    I hope they nail him to the wall if convicted, and give him lots of community service helping businesses clean up graffiti.

    Reply
  7. Radio Follower March 25, 2014

    JML…The police played this one correctly. Gather as much evidence as possible. And, make him work that much harder cleaning this stuff up. Easy on the police. They’re not the morons you so easily ‘tagged’ them to be in your post.

    Reply
    1. JML March 27, 2014

      Ok, big shot, Try telling that to all the business who got nailed. The pigs aren’t the smart good guys you tag them to be. The for profit jail and prison system is out of control.

      Reply
      1. Nate March 27, 2014

        From the C-T article:
        “Schuett is accused of tagging 17 city-owned street signs, crosswalk poles, utility boxes and utility poles along South French Broad Avenue, Hilliard Street and Clingman Avenue, along with two instances of tagging porch support beams at Clingman Avenue Condominiums, according to warrants.”

        So that’s a grand total of one “business” that he tagged, and for all we know, it was the final straw that got the officer to pull him in. Calm down, Francis.

        Reply
        1. Stu Helm March 28, 2014

          Nice “Stripes” reference! I love it.

          Reply
      2. Radio Follower March 29, 2014

        JML…”Pigs”? Classy.

        Reply
  8. H. Walsh March 24, 2014

    I hope the judge puts a heavy fine on this idiot and also makes him clean all the properties he has vandalized. Better yet, give him six months of community service cleaning graffiti off buildings in Avl.

    Reply
  9. Stu Helm March 24, 2014

    I live near the RAD, and I’ve never seen “SUVI,” but I see “SUZI” everyeffingwhere. Is it possible that SUVI is a typo? Either in this article, or on the original police report?

    Reply
    1. Santa March 24, 2014

      :You are right. SUZI is tagged everywhere. Now we know who the asshat is.

      Reply
  10. Harry March 24, 2014

    Fuggin dirtball! Make him clean the shit up.

    Reply
  11. doghaus28815 March 24, 2014

    has he bailed out?

    Reply
  12. Dusty March 24, 2014

    Ahh yes..and as Cecil Bothwell said yesterday in his complaints of John Boyle’s opinion piece on toughening the consequences for those vandalizing..”And, of course, he (Boyle) completely ignores the underlying social issues, the income disparity, the powerlessness, that feed into some persons’ need for expression.”

    Well here is the first face of that Cecil. A white bearded dude who was working at Firestorm. I guess this was the face that you were picturing.

    Reply
    1. JT March 25, 2014

      Need for expression? That is stupid.

      My two year old knows to watercolor on her paper and not on the table or the walls. There are rules we all have to live by, and there have to be consequences for disobeying the rules.

      Reply
  13. JML March 24, 2014

    Cops, what a bunch of morons

    Reply
  14. Nate March 24, 2014

    I love the fact that they let him do NINETEEN tags before they finally reeled him in, even though they witnessed him doing the first one . . . . were they just waiting for him to run out of paint?

    Reply
    1. JML March 24, 2014

      exactly, the cops are just as guilty for letting it happen… Cops, they are not the brightest in the bunch

      Reply
      1. GMBH March 24, 2014

        You guys need to put your thinking caps on. The dude was obviously a habitual tagger. If they get him for ONE tag, he pays a little fine and goes right back to it. If they observe him using the same tag multiple times in multiple locations, they can levy many many fines, which is a MUCH bigger deterrent, and create a proven record and profile of his habits and techniques, which will make it much easier to pin specific tags to him in the future.

        Reply
        1. Nate March 24, 2014

          Oh, I’m not worked up about it, and I definitely get why they let him do it . . . I’m just amused thinking about the cop sitting there calculating just how many he has to allow before it’s worth making the collar. Well, that and a certain feeling of sympathy for the city worker (and Clingman Lofts staff) who now has to clean up 19 tags instead of just a few.

          Reply
          1. Stu Helm March 24, 2014

            Hopefully, Travis will have to clean it up himself. While wearing a bright orange jump suit. That says “douchebag” on the back.

            Reply
  15. Media Watcher March 24, 2014

    From Mountain Xpress, 1/27/14:

    Firestorm Café and Books will close its doors March 1 but not for good. The worker-owned business is simply on the market for a new space. According to Travis Schuett, who has been with Firestorm for two-and-a-half years, the café’s downtown space at 48 Commerce St. is no longer working out.

    Reply
    1. GMBH March 24, 2014

      I never did have a particularly high opinion of the employees of Firestorm, I’m afraid, and this doesn’t help.

      Reply
  16. KG March 24, 2014

    He’s 25 years old and doing that crap? I figured a brainless 14 year old with horrible skills was doing the tagging.

    Reply
    1. Snarky March 24, 2014

      Perhaps we should cut him some slack because it looks like he’s prematurely balding. Maybe it was an early mid-life crisis.

      Reply
  17. Santa March 24, 2014

    Jerk.

    Reply
    1. smytty March 24, 2014

      What you said

      Reply
  18. thisisRIDICULOUS March 24, 2014

    As a friend of this person, I can 100% say, without a doubt, that he was profiled and is completely innocent. The whole story is absolutely insane, and to air out his name like this is essentially libel. Why not wait to publish stories like this until the case has gone through trial and the person is PROVEN guilty?

    Reply
    1. Foothills Dweller March 24, 2014

      Were you there?

      Reply
    2. GMBH March 24, 2014

      They saw him doing it 19 times, bro, and then arrested him on the spot with the equipment. It ain’t exactly gonna take Scotland Yard to put the pieces together on this one.

      Beyond which, the article clearly refers to him as a suspect, does not say he’s been convicted of any crime, and refers to the police press release with the testimony of the officer. There’s no impropriety whatsoever.

      Reply
    3. orton March 24, 2014

      He’s a white dude with a beard and he lives in Asheville. How was a “profiled”?

      Reply
    4. Jason W. March 24, 2014

      To prove Libel against an ordinary citizen you must prove 3 things:
      1) That the printed statement is false
      2) That the statement caused harm
      3) That the statement was made without adequate research into it’s truthfulness

      While you can try to argue 2 & 3 in this case, nothing about this report was false. The police observed Mr. Schuett tagging property 19 different times. It was put into a police report, which is public record.

      Also if people want to keep their name unsullied, and out of the media they should perhaps not engage in illegal activities within the public eye.

      Reply
    5. JT March 24, 2014

      Wait… because you know him it makes you 100% sure that he didn’t tag any property? Unless you were with him during the exact time that it allegedly happened, your stats are wrong.

      You do make strong point with the all caps “RIDICULOUS” though.

      Reply
    6. Nate March 24, 2014

      How exactly do you “profile” a guy that looks like 50% of the adult male population of Asheville?

      Reply
    7. indy March 24, 2014

      I guess he was profiled, in the sense, he had a can of paint in his hand.

      Reply
    8. Radio Follower March 25, 2014

      Ridiculous: Libel? He was arrested and charged with a crime. Sorry your friend is in this situation. The courts will sort it out, but it’s ‘ridiculous’ to think that the media should ignore this story until your friend’s trial is completed.

      Reply
    9. Harry March 25, 2014

      Apparently, you are one of those who really DO need help picking your friends. Newsflash: Your friend is a scumbag!

      Reply

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