Gang-Related Graffiti Concerns Deputies

East Orange County has the largest number of gang members in the county and that number is growing, deputies told WFTV Friday.

Deputies say the gangs are using private property as their personal canvass, spraying graffiti across the area east of Semoran Boulevard.

Gang members will leave their mark anywhere.

"We had tags here. We had tags on the garage door," said business owner Jeremy McCauley.

McCauley called deputies after his business was targeted several times.

"They actually told me it was primarily gang-related tags," McCauley said.

His business is in East Orange County sector II to the sheriff's office. There are about 1,500 documented gang members in the county and 26 percent live in sector II, attributed mostly to the higher population and large size of that area.

There are two kinds of graffiti. Deputies say there is elaborate colorful work that looks like it took a while to complete and was most likely spray painted by vandals, and quick markings that are considered gang-related graffiti.

The markings designate a gang member's turf, or a crime. District 4 Commissioner Jennifer Thompson received dozens of complaints about graffiti in the Alafaya Trail-Waterford Lakes area.

"The sheriff's office has already stepped in and said this is there main concern getting boots on the ground and talking to residents and I'm going to hold them to the fire," Thompson said.

According to deputies, gangs recruit young teens. Deputies want parents to check their children's clothing patterns and notebooks for odd signs.

It's illegal to sell spray paint to minors. McCauley wants deputies to enforce that law.

"It's an aggravation and I hope it doesn't escalate," Thompson said.

There are 55 gangs in Orange County. The county is still far below the national average, per capita, but it's a problem deputies don't want to see worsen.