For this newest criminal street gang operating in the San Francisco Bay Area, guns and knives are a thing of the past. Their choice of weapons these days are colorful arsenal of spray paints.
Buildings plastered with graffiti all over
Otherwise a non-violent crew, the gang is said to have sprayed on Bay Area freeways and buildings loud graffiti designs. They seem to have mastered the art and been doing this over a long period of time. The designs have finally managed to anger the prosecutors who have filed a charge against them, stating this as crude behavior. The members of this street gang, who call their set up ‘Have You Seen Us’ or HYSU, are now facing potential sentences of subjecting to hooliganism, going against the law. The sentence could be 5 to 20 years of imprisonment.
The prosecutors feel graffiti not only has a negative impact on realty by bringing down property value, but also adds some amount of ugliness across the place.
Angry victims want them punished
The residents also want the defendants to be severely punished though no one is hurt or threatened by their actions. Steve Zehring, co-owner of Mel Cotton’s Sporting Goods on San Carlos and a victim, expressed his discomfort in cleaning up the sprayed area that leaves behind an impression, not forgetting to mention the cost that goes into getting this done.
As of now, the HYSU members will be serving jail sentence for about six to eight months with community service, pay huge compensation and stay in probation for five years. On violating any of the above during the probation period, a three to eleven year imprisonment could be charged, depending on the number of counts against them.
Christopher Morales is an experienced San Francisco Criminal Lawyer. For expert advice from a San Francisco Three Strikes Lawyer for repeated offenses, contact us.
