Ann Arbor graffiti case: Court orders house arrests and tethers for teens

Examples of various SAES and Mole tags from across Ann Arbor.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

The two teenagers accused of spray painting their monikers — SAES and Mole — all over Ann Arbor were ordered Friday to be put under house arrest and on nighttime surveillance, court records show.

The two boys were to be fitted Monday with GPS tethers, according to orders signed by juvenile Referee Gail Altenburg. The boys will also be fingerprinted and be regularly tested for drugs.

Court records also revealed more details about what each teen faces. The 15-year-old Community High School student known as SAES was charged with 16 counts total. Nine of those counts are felonies punishable by five years' imprisonment, and/or $10,000 or three times the amount of destruction or injury, whichever is greater.

Four counts are misdemeanors punishable by one year in jail and/or $2,000 or three times the amount of damage, whichever is greater. The three remaining charges are misdemeanors punishable by 93 days in jail and/or $500 or three times the amount of damage, whichever is greater.

The second suspect, who is accused of using the moniker, "Mole," is a 16-year-old Pioneer student. He faces 11 counts, six of which are felonies punishable by five years' imprisonment, and/or $10,000 or three times the amount of destruction or injury, whichever is greater. Five counts are misdemeanors punishable by one-year in jail and/or $2,000 or three times the amount of damage, whichever is greater.

Ken Singh of Bandito's restaurant said he has probably repainted his back door once a year for the past 20 years. Both boys are accused of tagging the same door.

"He screwed up the whole town," Singh said of SAES. "It's everywhere."

While Singh is glad to see a couple of the kids caught, he doesn't necessarily see the problem of graffiti downtown going away. He said he knows he will likely have to repaint the door to his restaurant at some point again, even if the two boys have been taken out of the tagging scene.

Ben Curtis' company, Curtis Commercial, owns and operates eight buildings hit by SAES and Mole downtown. Curtis put the damage done by the two at $3,000 in damages. Each tag costs between about $25 and $100 to clean up, depending on its size and the type of materials used.

Curtis doesn't just think graffiti is bad for business, he objects aesthetically to the graffiti painted by SAES and Mole.

“Not only are they vandals, but horrible artists,” he said. “I’m thrilled. I think they’ve caused a lot of damage. It’s time consuming and expensive."

The charges against the SAES tagger included:

1. Malicious destruction of a building (MDOB), greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for the Builder's Plumbing building located at 2646 South Industrial Highway.
2. Malicious destruction of personal property (MDOPP), greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for recreational equipment owned by the city of Ann Arbor.
3. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a building located at 321 S. Main St.
4. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a building owned by the city of Ann Arbor located at 1519 Fuller Road
5. MDOPP, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a truck and/or trailer and cab.
6. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a building owned by Cabrio Properties located at 202 E. Washington St.
7. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a parking structure run by Republic Parking located at 324 Maynard St.
8. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for No Thai's restaurant located at 226 North Fourth Ave.
9. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for Argiero's Italian Restaurant located at 300 Detroit St.
10. MDOPP, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for a wall at Rush Street, located 314 S. Main St.
11. MDOB, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for the parking structure located at 309 Maynard St.
12. MDOB, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for Bandito's, located at 216 S. Fourth Ave.
13. MDOPP, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for a wall on the Northside Grill, located at 1015 Broadway St.
14. MDOB, less than $200, for Crazy Wisdom, located at 114 S. Main St.
15. MDOB, less than $200, for Kuroshiro, located at 120 E Liberty St.
16. MDOB, less than $200, for Bell's Restaurant, located at 716 Packard St.

Charges against the Mole tagger include:

1. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for the Builder's Plumbing building located at 2646 South Industrial Highway
2. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a building located at 321 S. Main St.
3. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a building owned by the city of Ann Arbor located at 1519 Fuller Road.
4. MDOPP, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a truck and/or trailer and cab.
5. MDOB, greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for a building owned by Cabrio Properties located at 202 E. Washington St.
6. Malicious destruction of personal property (MDOPP), greater than $1,000 but less than $20,000, for recreational equipment owned by the city of Ann Arbor.
7. MDOPP, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for a wall at Rush Street, located 314 S. Main St.
8. MDOPP, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for signs at Garris and Garris Law Firm, located at 300 E. Washington St.
9. MDOB, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for the parking structure located at 309 Maynard St.
10. MDOB, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for Bandito's, located at 216 S. Fourth Ave.
11. MDOPP, greater than $200 but less than $1,000, for a wall on the Northside Grill, located at 1015 Broadway St.

View SAES/MOLE Locations in a larger map

John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.