Crime Watch: Brighton Youth Discovers High Price of Tagging

Tribute to Dijoun Quinn of Commerce City... There is now a $2500 reward posted by the Commerce City

A Shooting Claims the life of 18 year old Dijoun Quinn... COMMERCE CITY - The Commerce City Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred in the 6500 block of Holly St. Officers responded to a report of shots being fired in the area. When they arrived they found a male lying on the ground. It appears that an 18 year old male was walking southbound on Holly St when he was shot multiple times. The male was transported to the hospital but did not survive his injuries. Commerce City police identified the 18-year-old as Dijoun Quinn, a recent graduate of Adams City High School who had enlisted in the Army. Quinn's Grandfather says his grandson didn't have any enemies and was not in a gang. There is no suspect information available at this time, and investigators are encouraging anyone with information to contact Detective Bryan VanderMeer at 303-289-3629 or the Commerce City Tip Line at 303-289-3626. The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released as it becomes available.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Brighton Youth Discovers High Price of Tagging

While some people think of graffiti as a minor crime, a 17-year-old Brighton boy and his parents discovered just how high the price of tagging can be at his sentencing hearing last Friday

The youth, who isn’t being identified because of his age, appeared in Brighton Municipal Court on June 4, 2010, for sentencing in 13 cases of Application of Graffiti, sometimes referred to as ‘tagging’. Key details of his sentencing include:

$11,750.00 fines

$2,380.00 restitution

$325.00 court costs

576 hours of community service

2 years supervised probation

Because he is a juvenile, a parent or guardian was required to appear in court with him, and could ultimately be held responsible for the payment of restitution, fines, and court costs.

In response to increased graffiti activity, the City of Brighton recently initiated a multi-faceted response to the problem, including deployment of mobile cameras to photograph offenders in problem areas and the assignment of several officers to a graffiti-specific task group. Because each individual ‘tag’ constitutes a separate crime, future offenders could find themselves facing similar sentences if convicted in multiple cases.