PHOTOS: Lake Anne Hit With Graffiti

Maggie January 11, 2013 at 12:22 am

I snorted.

Reston Skyscrapers Rule! January 11, 2013 at 03:21 pm

I think they are part of the same gang that keeps defacing soapstone and colts neck with signs about "SAVE THE GOLF COURSE!"

dave in reston January 11, 2013 at 03:52 pm

Has the ffx police gang unit analyzed the graffiti? 18st is a gang, and graffiti can sometimes be a message to other members or rival gangs.

Brandie Ryan January 11, 2013 at 03:57 pm

I took my children to the playground off North Shore yesterday and they even vandalized the equipment. I think this is a sad discrace not something to joke about!

reston on my laurels January 11, 2013 at 04:25 pm

"If there's leviyt surrounding it, it make the moment a lot more palatable."
-Harold Bragman. I like to save my wringing of hands over Barnes and Noble and if Starbucks will remain open.

reston on my laurels January 11, 2013 at 04:26 pm

Also, levity.

Skip Endale January 11, 2013 at 04:58 pm

I see in the photo above a shadowy figure holding their hands above their head... so lets directly proceed to the pop quiz:
a. is it uncle smarty getting busted for schedule I offenses b. is it a robbery in progress c. is it chipperson bringing the graffitti violator to justice d. is it a lake anne owner resident raising his/her hands in despair over dropping real estate value The first correct answer will get you a free membership to the elusive RescueReston club with full priviledges on the fairway.

Uncle Smartypants January 11, 2013 at 06:13 pm

Skip I can attest it is not a. I will go with a modified "d" - only it looks like they are pulling their hair out instead of merely raising them.

Southie January 12, 2013 at 01:02 pm

Folks, please wake up to recognizing the graffiti around you. They are warning signs so take them seriously to save your neighborhood. The 18th Street gang is a trans-national gang from Los Angeles. From Fairfax County Police "Graffiti is used by gang members to identify turf, communicate threats, and show allegiance. As a result it is important to call the Fairfax Police at 703-691-2131 if graffiti is spotted in Fairfax and remove once they take a report and pictures."

Southie January 12, 2013 at 01:28 pm

One more thing, the Univ. of Maryland has a great sight on gangs and their tags (the 666 and three dots also point to an 18th Street affiliation). I didn't realize that Reston has such a high presence of this gang. http://gangs.umd.edu/Gangs/18thStreet.aspx

Bob Bruhns January 12, 2013 at 05:08 pm

Ten years ago, Herndon had been seeing graffiti for years, but it was hushed up. The quiet story we got - from police at civic meetings - was that it was covered up because officials did not want to let the gangs see themselves mentioned in the paper. It's interesting that our leaders had so much control over local media back then. Personally, I think it was covered up in order to keep property values from falling - priorities, after all, are priorities.
That little arrangement continued, until gang activity resulted in someone being stabbed, and someone else being clobbered with part of a concrete block, just outside of the iconic Herndon Festival back in 2003. A few months later, Herndon was part of a Gang Task Force. Still, we had a gang-related shooting that killed one young man, and wounded his girlfriend, we had a stabbing death, there was a house shooting incident in nearby Sterling around this time of year in 2006, and we even had a couple of girls kidnapped in a 2007 human trafficking crime that was gang related; that was just outside of the Town of Herndon around Parcher Avenue. Fortunately, the girls were quickly located in Atlanta, Georgia. Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. Reston needs to take heed. Note that these are international gangs. Many of the gang members and leaders are here illegally, and the US government is discontinuing the 287(g) program in favor of the less effective 'Secure Communities' program.

Bob Bruhns January 12, 2013 at 05:17 pm

The "Secure Communities" program does not apply to serious criminals until _after_ they have struck again, and been arrested and jailed here. In contrast, the 287(g) program detected serious criminals even _before_ they struck again. So the elimination of the 287(g) program, and its replacement by the "Secure Communities" program, reduces the effectiveness of the law-enforcement that we are paying for. I submit that this change is not good.
Worse yet, it turns out that ICE has been routinely releasing known murderers all along. ARTICLE: Many freed criminals avoid deportation, strike again Boston Globe, December 09, 2012 http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/12/09/secret-criminals-quietly-released-criminals-who-were-supposed-deported-with-deadly-consequences/864u1YQbUaVcRiSnz6VaxJ/story.html "The vast and secretive US prison system for immigrants, stymied when it tries to deport some criminals, has quietly released thousands, including killers, a Globe investigation shows." This is not some angry article from some xenophobic lunatics - the Boston Globe is owned by the New York Times. I suggest that now might be a good time to start paying attention to what our so-called 'leaders' are handing us.

Eve Thompson January 12, 2013 at 05:21 pm

The police were called the morning that the graffiti was discovered; they came, took pictures and a report was filed.

paul January 13, 2013 at 03:13 am

Northern VA has some of the most violent gangs in the US, base is Herndon and Arlington area.

DGeorge January 13, 2013 at 12:26 pm

75% of all firearm deaths in the US are gang related. Why do we tolerate these gangs? PC?

Maggie January 13, 2013 at 04:14 pm

I would love to see some citation on this. Where did you get this number?

DGeorge January 13, 2013 at 09:12 pm

According to the Natl Inst of Justice.
"The percentage of gang-related homicides caused by guns fell slightly to 94 percent in 2004, but the percentage of homicides caused by firearms during the commission of a felony rose from about 60 percent to 77 percent from 1976 to 2005.

Maggie January 13, 2013 at 09:25 pm

Oh, so by "firearm deaths" you didn't mean suicides or accidental deaths, only homicides? Because that does make your statistic sound very impressive. Firearm deaths would technically include suicides and accidental deaths, though, if you didn't want to be sensationalistic.

Skip Endale January 14, 2013 at 12:56 am

if you can't live with the rules at home, don't join a gang.
"18th Street members must follow a strict set of rules and are forbidden to use crack cocaine and other serious drugs. A refusal to follow any of the rules or a failure to carry out commands from a senior member frequently results in death."

DGeorge January 14, 2013 at 02:19 am

Ah Maggie. You think gangs are a good thing? How would the statistics change if we eliminated the gangs? Why haven't we?

Laura Ramon January 14, 2013 at 02:23 am

Really DGeorge?! That's what you're taking away from these comments? That Maggie thinks gangs are good? How about that you are clearing attempting to misrepresent the statistical information. You're pretty sad--

DGeorge January 14, 2013 at 02:26 am

Maggie, in 2012 in Afghanistan 405 soldiers were killed. That includes Great Britain and the other counties of the coalition. In Chicago 504 citizens were killed, mostly gang related, and this in a city with the most stringent gun laws in the country. Take a look at Detroit. Last year more people were killed by being bashed with a club than killed with a gun. More people were killed with fists and feet than with guns.
Lets ban feet.

Laura Ramon January 14, 2013 at 02:47 am

Oh-- blah, blah, blah. DGeorge-- yeah, yeah, Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Shut up, just shut the heck up. Tell it to any of the 20 sets of parents who's children ended up in shot up heap of innocence that guns don't kill people, you are wrong, just flat out f@$*!ing wrong!

Maggie January 14, 2013 at 04:22 am

What you do when you misrepresent statistics that way is you make it seem like other gun violence doesn't happen. Of course gangs are bad. Of course we do not want the children of Reston recruited for them, but is the real way to stop from happening to lie and misrepresent the facts about gun violence? Can I legitimately say "100% of gang related firearm murders involve guns"? Sure. It's true. But it's obviously a statistic so filtered it is meaningless, which your statistic was to me.
Want to stop gangs in Reston? Stop children from joining them. How do you do that? That's the real debate. I suspect it has something to do with the father.

DGeorge January 14, 2013 at 10:39 am

Well Laura tell it to this lady and mother.
CBS) -- Police said a Georgia mother hiding with her children shot an intruder five times after he chased them in their own home Friday afternoon, CBS affiliate WGCL-TV reports. Authorities said the woman took her twin 9-year-old children to the attic as the man broke into their house with a crowbar. He reportedly busted open the front door and gave chase when he heard the woman call out to her children. Investigators said the man chased the family into a crawl space near the attic, and when he opened a door the mother opened fire, striking him five times. He then stumbled out of the house, got into a car and crashed into a tree line in an attempt to flee from the scene. The woman and her children then ran to a neighbor's home for help, WGCL-TV reports. Investigators said 32-year-old Paul Slater is in critical condition and in an intensive care unit at Gwinnett Medical Center. He reportedly has an extensive criminal history.

DGeorge January 14, 2013 at 10:41 am

How many lives are saved annually by citizens defending themselves? Do some research Laura. Knee jerks don't cut it.

Arja Sahramaa January 14, 2013 at 02:37 pm

In the past couple of weeks, the underpass next to the Lake Anne Plaza has been hit with graffiti, painted over, and hit again. The last time they even tagged one of the benches just outside the underpass. The underpass walls were painted but the tags were still on the bench this morning. So sad. Video surveillance, anyone?

The Convict January 15, 2013 at 05:33 pm

Gotta love the thoughtful commentary here.
Guns in and of themselves rarely kill people. The problem is usually the person behind the gun. But because we don't want to address the person, well, let's go after the gun. (Note: I am for sane gun control measures, but let's understand the real problem and address that as well.)

The Convict January 15, 2013 at 05:35 pm

Probably not nearly as many as are illegally injured or killed with a weapon, George.

DGeorge January 16, 2013 at 01:34 am

Probably convict? Try 2.5 million a year. If you disagree with that number cut it in half, cut in quarters as the Brady people have, and you still have hundreds of thousands defending themselves every year. Do the research. Like Laura, you will not like what you find.