Work Attributed to 'Buket' in LA River (Los Angeles Times) |
LOS ANGELES -- A notorious YouTube graffiti vandal known as "Buket" was sentenced today to three years, eight months in prison after accepting financial responsibility for a new spate of damage.
Cyrus Yazdani, 26, who used the moniker “Buket,” was on probation after pleading guilty in December 2008 to 32 felony counts of vandalism when he was rearrested May 21.
He was charged in May with five new counts of felony vandalism over $400.
Investigators discovered graffiti with his moniker on the 7th Street Bridge, the Cesar Chavez Bridge and in the 4200 block of South Broadway, said Deputy District Attorney Deann McCarthy.
The most recent incidents occurred between Dec. 22, 2008 and March 31.
On July 30, Yazdani pleaded no contest to one count of felony vandalism and accepted responsibility for the four other counts.
Together, the five counts totaled $14,174. In exchange for his plea, the other four vandalism counts were dismissed today.
Superior Court Judge James Bianco today imposed the three year prison sentence that was suspended following YazdaniÂ’s plea in December.
Judge Bianco added another eight months for the no contest plea in July.
Judge Bianco also ordered him to pay $117,196 in restitution, which includes $103,022 that he still owes in restitution from the December plea.
McCarthy said Yazdani has only paid $400 to date from the December case.
Yazdani was taken into immediate custody to begin serving his state prison sentence.
Yazdani became something of an Internet sensation when he plastered his "Buket" bomb 20 feet above the busy Hollywood Freeway -- vandalism that was captured on videotape and posted with a rap soundtrack on YouTube and numerous tagger-related blogs.
Another daylight attack, which was also videotaped, appeared to show "Buket" applying his moniker to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus as passersby and passengers watched in surprise.
A YouTube video that captured both tagging exploits has more than 450,000 views. But the notoriety also got the attention of sheriff's transit investigators, who last May arrested Yazdani.
Sheriff's officials said they had evidence that Yazdani had marked hundreds of freeway overpasses, concrete walls and transit buses across the state and southern Nevada.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified at least 20 "Buket" scrawlings along a stretch of the river spanning a couple of miles, causing an estimated $60,000 in damage.
Cyrus Yazdani, 26, who used the moniker “Buket,” was on probation after pleading guilty in December 2008 to 32 felony counts of vandalism when he was rearrested May 21.
He was charged in May with five new counts of felony vandalism over $400.
Investigators discovered graffiti with his moniker on the 7th Street Bridge, the Cesar Chavez Bridge and in the 4200 block of South Broadway, said Deputy District Attorney Deann McCarthy.
The most recent incidents occurred between Dec. 22, 2008 and March 31.
On July 30, Yazdani pleaded no contest to one count of felony vandalism and accepted responsibility for the four other counts.
Together, the five counts totaled $14,174. In exchange for his plea, the other four vandalism counts were dismissed today.
Superior Court Judge James Bianco today imposed the three year prison sentence that was suspended following YazdaniÂ’s plea in December.
Judge Bianco added another eight months for the no contest plea in July.
Judge Bianco also ordered him to pay $117,196 in restitution, which includes $103,022 that he still owes in restitution from the December plea.
McCarthy said Yazdani has only paid $400 to date from the December case.
Yazdani was taken into immediate custody to begin serving his state prison sentence.
Yazdani became something of an Internet sensation when he plastered his "Buket" bomb 20 feet above the busy Hollywood Freeway -- vandalism that was captured on videotape and posted with a rap soundtrack on YouTube and numerous tagger-related blogs.
Another daylight attack, which was also videotaped, appeared to show "Buket" applying his moniker to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus as passersby and passengers watched in surprise.
A YouTube video that captured both tagging exploits has more than 450,000 views. But the notoriety also got the attention of sheriff's transit investigators, who last May arrested Yazdani.
Sheriff's officials said they had evidence that Yazdani had marked hundreds of freeway overpasses, concrete walls and transit buses across the state and southern Nevada.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified at least 20 "Buket" scrawlings along a stretch of the river spanning a couple of miles, causing an estimated $60,000 in damage.
