LONG BEACH : Teen in Tagging Spree Gets 3 Years’ Probation

A 16-year-old boy, arrested in a tagging spree that his mother attempted to stop, has been placed on three years’ probation after pleading guilty to felony vandalism.

The teen-ager admitted to participating in the graffiti spree last month that caused about $12,000 in damage along Pacific Coast Highway and Anaheim Street.

He was arrested in front of his home three days after the March 19 incident, which his mother tried to stop by alerting police to her son’s plans and driving along PCH, looking for him. Police arrested another tagger that night, Brian Davis Charley, 19, but the 16-year-old boy evaded authorities. Charley has not entered a plea but remains in jail awaiting a preliminary hearing with another suspect, 19-year-old Albin Anthony.

Juvenile Court Judge Cecil J. Mills imposed an 8 p.m. curfew on the boy and ordered him to perform community service every weekend for six months. He also must make passing grades in school, attend counseling with his mother and pay restitution. He is prohibited from driving.