News brief: “Korrupt Thugs” arrested for tagging

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A trio of teenagers told police they belong to a gang called Korrupt Thugs after getting caught tagging with red spray paint last night in Centralia.

Police were called around 10 p.m. to the 600 block of West Main Street where a man saw a boy spray painting his building and tried to grab him, but the youth fled, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Not too long after, an officer observed three males walking in the area and found paint on two of them, according to police.

The teenagers, 17, 16 and 14, all Centralia residents, admitted to tagging the building as well as locations on the 400 block of South Rock Street, South Iron Street and South Pearl Street, according to police. They also led officers to a can of spray paint hidden in some bushes.

It’s not a gang local authorities know anything about, Officer Chris Fitzgerald said today.

The youth said “KT” stand for Korrupt Thugs and “23” stands for west side, police reported.

“These kids are not as far as we know, gang members,” Fitzgerald said. “They’re taggers.”

The teens were arrested and then released to their parents. The damage is estimated at $2,000.

“It’s getting to be a huge problem,” Fitzgerald said. “I just took another report today.

The Food Mart on the 100 block of Harrison Avenue had just painted their building and today reported tagging covering the majority of an exterior wall on the building, she said.

The police department is asking anyone with information about persons involved in tagging to call police of Lewis County Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers accepts anonymous tips and offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest of persons involved in vandalism.

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