True story: one time my son was invited to a sleep-over at a friend's
house. We were told that the friend's mom was planning to take the
kids out TP-ing (i.e. unfurling rolls of toilet paper over peoples
houses, trees, and shrubbery). Needless to say, we did not allow our
son to attend the sleep-over.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tagmom30aug30,0,2026962.story?coll=la-ho
me-headlines

Mom Accused of Helping Sons Make Their Mark -- on Buildings
Police say an Echo Park woman drove five teenagers around so they
could spray graffiti. About 100 sites were hit, authorities contend.
By Amanda Covarrubias and Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writers
August 30, 2006

On Avalon Street in Echo Park, Victoria Villicano is known as a
devoted mother who is often seen behind the wheel of her SUV, driving
her two teenage sons to stores and sporting events.

But Los Angeles Police Department detectives say the 42-year-old woman
also drove a five-member tagging crew, including her two children,
around Silver Lake and Echo Park, stopping long enough for the group
to jump out and vandalize.

Authorities believe the crew is responsible for spray-painting about
100 sites along Sunset Boulevard, causing tens of thousands of dollars
in damage. Their alleged reign came to an end last week when police
received a call about some teens tagging a 7-Eleven store in Silver
Lake.

Undercover vandalism detectives said they found one of Villicano's
sons — with fresh paint on his hands — near a wall, dumping clothing
and paint cans into a trashcan. Police found the other alleged taggers
waiting with Villicano in her SUV.

"This had to be a first," said one of the detectives, who asked that
his name not be used because of the nature of his work.

But a relative said the allegations do not square with the woman he
knows.

Ray Bermudez, Villicano's stepfather, said she would often leave the
house with her sons, but it was to go shopping or play sports.

"She goes shopping, she comes back and it's normal," said Bermudez,
60, who shares a small ramshackle house with Villicano and her two
sons, ages 15 and 19. "She's a good mom. She's old enough to know
better."

Villicano and her 19-year-old son, David Ramirez, were scheduled to be
appear today in Los Angeles County Superior Court on five counts of
felony vandalism of more than $400. Four juveniles ranging in age from
14 to 16, including Villicano's 15-year-old son, are also being held.

This was not Villicano's first arrest. She pleaded no contest in 2002
to felony possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor
charge of carrying a concealed weapon. She was sentenced to 90 days in
jail and three years' probation. In January, she was charged with one
felony count of possession or purchase of a cocaine base for sale. She
pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in jail with credit for
nearly three months behind bars. She was again placed on probation.

Because of the prior arrests, she is being held without bail. Ramirez
is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

In Echo Park — where graffiti has been a major problem —some residents
said they were disturbed by the arrest.

"I can't understand what kind of mother would do that," said Evie
Seifu, who runs a business near Villicano's home. "It's telling her
children that it's OK to do this kind of thing."

Seifu said she and her husband have had to paint over graffiti on the
wall of their Echo Park studio at least 10 times in the last year.

"Seeing graffiti still makes you feel unsettled, no matter where
you're at," said Seifu, who lives in Silver Lake. "It's not about the
property, it's about something being violated."

The arrests were made by the Northeast Area station's criminal
apprehension team, the enforcement arm of the station's detectives.
Team members work plainclothes and target specific crime problems or
trends in the area.

Witnesses spotted a crew tagging at Micheltorena Street School in
Silver Lake on Aug. 22 and followed them to the 7-Eleven at Sunset
Boulevard and Rosemont Avenue, where undercover detectives caught up
with them.

Detectives said they found the letters "HIV" or "HIVC" spray-painted
at both sites, as well as at about 100 other locations within a
two-mile area along Sunset Boulevard between Virgil Avenue and Lemoyne
Street. Law enforcement sources said the moniker stood for either
"High in Violence" or "High in Vandalism." Detectives are
investigating whether the rash of graffiti was part of some rivalry
with another tagging crew.

LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger said he was taken aback when he
first heard about the arrest and said it underscores the need for
parents to be responsible.

"Sometimes we search for answers as to why young people become engaged
in irresponsible acts," he said. "We look to social and economic
conditions as causal factors. But often it's parents abdicating their
responsibility to be parents."

Bermudez said he once confronted a tagger who was spray-painting near
the coffee shop he frequents in Echo Park

"I told one of them to put some on his rear end, that's where it
belongs," Bermudez said.