Prison for a Tagger: Part 2
It was his birthday on June 5, 2007, and he and his crew wanted to party. What do taggers do when they get drunk and want to celebrate? They tear up people’s property by writing graffiti and get careless.
On June 5, 2007, Hare and his Crew got together at a fellow taggers home and planned to destroy property. Hare, his girlfriend along with a female driver, and a 13-year-old boy went in one car; while other PK taggers went in two other vehicles to tag in Oklahoma City. Hare and is friend Elmo, a 13 year old tagger accomplice, had the girls drop them off on the Downtown Interstate system where he and ELMO wrote their graffiti, in the name of CIER, on the Interstate 40 highway signs. CIER called these signs “Heaven Pieces” as he and ELMO drew their graffiti on the signs, a motorist called 911 and reported seeing kids destroying the Interstate exit signs and told the police where the kids were. Officers responded to the scene but Hare spotted them coming and ran. He and Elmo got into the Lexus SUV driven by the girls and they fled the area escaping capture. The next day I was on my way to work when I passed under the Interstate signs and saw Happy Birthday CIER written in huge letters. I knew exactly who did it and knew it would be only a matter of time when the pics would show up on http://www.myspace.com.
Two days into the investigation it was determined by the Oklahoma State Department of Transportation the cost of repair for the damage sustained on the Interstate signs was in excess of five thousand dollars. Now we were dealing with a felony and all I had to do was prove Eric Hare did it. We began monitoring http://www.myspace.com, and sure enough there they were. The Interstate 40 highway signs were being shown on an http://www.myspace.com account bragging about CIER, Elmo, and the PK Crew. I subpoenaed the IP address and discovered the computer location by name and address. This is where the pictures had been loaded on to http://www.myspace.com and I recognized the name of the computer owner as YANK, a PK member. This was what I was waiting for and I was hot on a lead.
Computer Forensic Detective Rob Holland and I went to see YANK and his mother. Yank was only 17 years old and I wanted his mother and him to explain the pics on http://www.myspace.com. When we got to YANK’S house Yank confessed to me that he did load the pics of the Interstates signs on http://www.myspace.com at the direction of CIER, Eric Hare. He told me Eric and ELMO along with several PK members was at his house partying celebrating Eric’s, his girlfriend and HELOK’S birthday. All three had the same birthday. This was the first time Heloks name had come up since the planes got hit several months before. Yanks computer was seized and all of the evidence was found in the hard drive even though his mother had tried to delete the pictures from the system. The evidence was starting to build on Hare and his crew and the pursuit was in full speed.
Through talking to taggers I had gotten to know over the past few months, I was able to ID Elmo. He was a 13-year-old boy who was infatuated with Eric Hare. This kid worshiped the very ground CIER walked on. When I went to Elmo’s home I met with Elmo and his father. Elmo first denied knowing CIER and painting the interstate signs. This 13-year-old Asian boy from Vietnam had proud parents that were embarrassed by what their son had become and made him cooperate with me in my investigation. The boy confessed that he and CIER rode with CIER’S girlfriend and another girl in a
Lexus from Yanks house to the downtown Interstate, and tagged the highway signs celebrating CIERS birthday. He said he was afraid of CIER and that CIER would hurt him if he testified. CIER often told ELMO if wanted to be in the PK Crew he had to tag a lot all over town pronouncing the presence of the Paint Kings. After ELMO confessed to the crime I explained he would be charged as well in the crime as a juvenile. His father looked at the child and told him they were embarrassed to have had him as a son. The boy began to cry and for the first time I could see the Paint Kings began to fall apart. Even though it did bother me what the boy’s father had told him, I moved on understanding why this boy was seeking attention from others.
About this same time two young men had been arrested in Oklahoma City for tagging and one of them was known as KANS. Kans was a PK member and close associate to CIER, according to Yank. Yank had called me telling me about the arrest of Kans and he would be able to corroborate the story. Kans was identified and I interviewed him in the county jail. It was July 2007, when Kans had got caught writing graffiti on Interstate signs just a few miles away from where CIER had hit the signs. Kans told me the same story as Yank and he also had been at the birthday party at Yanks house. He said he was in a different car when they left Yanks and CIER and ELMO had written the graffiti on the highway signs. His information was accurate and did corroborate all that I had been told. He also told me how to find Helok and along with Yank, I followed tagger graffiti written by CIER and Helok right to the front door of James Hawkins, Helok.
Knowing I needed a confession from Helok to have enough evidence to file charges on him for the planes, he could also place Hare at the scene of the crime on the Interstate. It was pushing a hundred degrees, in the middle of July, and I was following tagger graffiti down southwest 59th street in Oklahoma City and the closer I got to Hawkins apartment the more Helok and CIER graffiti I found. I arrived in an apartment complex at SW 59th and Hudson and found the apartment where James Hawkins aka Helok lived. I knocked on the apartment door and was let in by a friend of Hawkins mother. I ask for James when I saw a young 21-year-old boy walk from a back bedroom with a six-inch spiked Mohawk haircut walking down the hall. I introduced myself as Flowers and his demeanor melted. He looked like he had just lost his best friend. He sat down at the dining room table and I began to question him about CIER and all of the tags he and CIER had done. His responses were reserved and evasive. I asked him who was in his bedroom and he said know one. He was denying knowing much about CIER. I got up from the table and walked down the hallway to the bedroom door where Hawkins had just come from. To my surprise setting on the bed with Hawkins girlfriend was Eric Hare, CEIR. Hare stood up and when I entered the room and I immediately told him to set down and keep quite. He got on the phone and called a number telling me to talk to his lawyer. I told him I had no need to talk to neither his lawyer nor him at this time. He demanded this was harassment and I must be following him. I told him he was partly right, I was following him and would continue to follow him as long as he was a tagger and a criminal. I then turned my attention to Hawkins after I made sure Hare did not have a gun. I had seen him with what appeared to be a Glock pistol on his web page several times, even though he denied to having a gun. Once I was outside with Hawkins he did confess to tagging the Centennial Planes at Wiley Post Airport back several months prior. This gave me enough evidence now to file on him for that crime. He also gave me enough corroboration of facts to charge Eric Hare with the tagging of Interstate signs. He then questioned me how I knew what I did about the facts of the case. He told me Kans must have talked. I never told him different. The break down of the PK Crew was growing and their trust between each other was diminishing. Having the evidence I had worked so hard to obtain, the tireless hours of pressing on was paying off. The case of felony destroying property was presented to the District Attorney and felony charges were now being filed against Hare.
Once Kans got out of jail for his charges and after I had interviewed Hawkins about his and CIER’s crimes, they decided to go after Kans for talking with me about the PK crew. It was later the same month when Hare and Hawkins went to the house where Kans was staying. Hawkins and Hare along with Hawkins girlfriend and other PK members went to Kans home and called him outside. When Kans met in the yard to talk to them they beat him severely leaving him in a pool of blood. They told him he was getting his ass kicked for talking to Flowers and giving up the PK Crew. They both, Hare and Hawkins told Kans they should kill him but they beat him instead. Kans mother and Hawkins girlfriend witnessed the attack and beating. Minutes after the beating, my cell phone went crazy. Taggers were calling me telling me what had just happened. I contacted officers at the scene and told them who did this. I called and spoke to Kans and he said this happened because he cooperated with me and he was told by both CIER and Helok that he was not going to testify. He said they were going after the girls who drove them the night of the tagging on the Interstate. Officers with OCPD started a manhunt for Eric Hare and James Hawkins.
About two days later I found James Hawkins at his house in south Okalahoma City. He confessed that he and Hare beat Kans because of his cooperation with the police. Hawkins was placed in Jail for Preventing a witness from testifying, a felony charge. The hunt continued for Hare. I received a tip that Hare was hiding out at his mother’s apartment in north Oklahoma City and OCPD Patrol Officers arrested him and put him in jail for the same charge. Additional charges were filed on Hare for felony destruction of property and Hawkins picked up a Misdemeanor charge for destroying property, the centennial planes.
In September 2007, Hare went before Oklahoma County Court Judge Bass-Lesure. His bond had been set at forty thousand dollars for his crimes and he and his attorney pleaded to the judge to reduce his bond so he could mend his ways. I testified before the judge that letting Hare out of jail would be a big mistake and he was a menace to our society. I explained how he would return to his life of crime and be a threat to law enforcement and witnesses in his case. The judge reduced his bond by half with restrictions that he was not to contact any witnesses and he had to be home each day by 7p.m. Hare was released from jail and was back on the radar. A notice was sent out to all officers that Hare was out and to watch out for him being in violation of the courts orders. In the mean time I continued to investigate Hare cases and found other graffiti in OKC that he had done and managed to file these charges.
In mid September, just a couple of weeks after his release by Judge Bass-Lesure, Officers got a call regarding a man with a gun in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant located at 122nd N. Penn, Oklahoma City. The suspect description was provided to the responding officers and when they arrived they saw a white male standing in the parking, lot at 2 a.m., acting very suspicious. The officers approached the male subject and ordered him to the ground. The subject was not cooperative and would not show his hands. The officers approached the uncooperative person to learn they were dealing with Eric Hare. Hare was cuffed and found to be in possession of a Glock 9mm handgun he had stuffed in his waistband. He was arrested and booked for possession of a firearm. This was a clear violation of the courts order and Judge Bass-Lesure was notified.
Hare had his bond set again at a low cost and was allowed to get out of jail once again by a different judge. His reputation was now preceding him, and using the words of his fellow taggers, he was becoming famous in the tag world. Since this arrest Hare laid low and Hawkins plead to an Oklahoma prison term going to RID, a 6-month boot camp for convicts. He agreed to testify against Hare for all the crimes they had committed together. The court date was set for December 2007 and Hare was offered two in and six out. This offer was refused and Hare wanted his day in court.
On December 17, 2007 I went to the Oklahoma County Court house for the trial against Hare. Judge Greg Ryan was hearing the case set in his court. Judge Bass-Lesure had notified Judge Ryan that she had recalled Hare’s bonds that she had earlier set, letting him out of jail. Since he had violated her court orders, his new bond for destroying property and witness intimidation is now set at $500,000.00 thousand dollars on each count. This meant his bond now was a million dollars. Hare was called before Judge Ryan at 9:00 a.m. and he was arrested by Oklahoma County Sheriffs Deputies and placed in custody. His hearing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. the same day. Before the trial began, Hare told his lawyer witnesses were not at the courthouse to testify against him. ADA Pat Garrison and I learned of Hare’s beliefs and walked the witness KANS into the courtroom to show Hare we were serious and not bluffing. When Kans walked into the courtroom Hare’s color in his face got pale and his breathing got short. As we started the hearing Garrison called his first witness to testify, being Kans and Hares girlfriend was on deck. As the witness was called Hare stood up with his lawyer and told the court loudly, “I’ll take the deal two in six out.” The witnesses did tell me later they had received a phone call the day before warning them if they testified they would get it. The caller could not be identified. It was believed the caller was a PK Member. It all made since to us now why Hare was so confidant about the witnesses not showing up to testify. The PK Crew had now fallen completely apart and their leader was destined for prison.
Hare was convicted by a plea of guilty at 1:30 p.m., the same day, in the courtroom of Judge Greg Ryan for Destroying Property, a Felony, and Witness Intimidation, a Felony. He was sentenced to 2 years in Oklahoma State Prison and 6 years of supervised probation for his crimes. Hare is the first person that has ever been convicted for tagging in Oklahoma and sent to prison for this crime.
In December 2007 administrators with the Oklahoma City Police Department, Major John Scully, Captain Pat Byrne and I met with Senator Todd Lamb, Oklahoma State Senate. Our meeting was the start of new legislation being introduced regarding destruction of property SS21- 1751-1790 making the crime a felony when damage is valued at $1000 dollars reduced from $2500 dollars. The new legislation will also allow offenses that occur during the same event be combined and become one offense. This section of law will also allow combining the value of damage loss. The new revised law also recognizes a second conviction of destroying property, regardless of the property-valued damage, a felony. When Oklahoma State Senator Lamb presents this revised legislation to lawmakers, and once it is passed into law, citizens and law enforcement officers in Oklahoma will have a new tool to combat vandalism in our state. Taggers will be held more accountable for their crimes of destruction of property and this will streamline prosecution.
As I follow taggers today on http://www.myspace.com, I read the words of one tagger talking to fellow taggers asking, “why are they so serious about this, who did we kill?” My response to him was this, “You kill the look of our society and you kill the attraction of Industry and businesses interested in the future of our State, with the trash you draw on our property calling it art. The property you vandalize belongs to the citizens of Oklahoma and they are doing something to stop it.”
Inspector Jerry L. Flowers
Criminal Intelligence/Gang Enforcement
Oklahoma City Police Department
Inspector Flowers is a 34-year veteran of Oklahoma City Police Department. Inspector Flowers is the Senior Detective with the Oklahoma City police Department having experience in the Detective Division relating to Assault Squad investigations, Forgery, Robbery/Homicide, Intelligence, Vice, Drug Interdiction, Gang Intelligence, and Gang Enforcement. Inspector Flowers is currently assigned to the Criminal Intelligence Unit investigating criminal street gangs. Inspector Flowers is the Senior Hostage Negotiator for the Oklahoma City Police Tactical Response Team, where he has served since 1980.
Inspector Flowers is a lifetime member and past president of the Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association (OGIA) and past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association. He is also a past member of the California Gang Investigators Association, East Coast Gang Investigators Association, Texas Gang Investigators Association, past Chairman of the Membership Committee for the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations and the Regional Organized Crime Intelligence Center (ROCIC). He is also a past member of the Violence in Schools Committee for the Oklahoma State Department of Education headed by State Superintendent Sandy Garrett. He has 21 years of experience in gang investigations and is qualified in federal and state courts as a street gang expert witness.
Inspector Flowers is a certified gang instructor and has provided training to the Oklahoma City Police Training Academy, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Dept. Of Justice, DEA Academy at Quantico, Virginia, ATF, California Gang Investigators’ Association, N.W. Gang Investigators’ Association and other state and federal law enforcement agencies. Sgt. Flowers participated as a member of a symposium in reference to gang investigation strategies, sponsored by Janet Reno, United States Attorney General and the National Drug Intelligence Center, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1994.
In September of 1997, Sgt. Flowers assisted in the training of police officers in Nassau Bahamas, sponsored by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the State Department of the United States on the subject of gang investigations, gang cultures and lifestyle. Police officers from the Bahamas, Trinidad and Barbados received training on these gang issues. In November of 2001, Insp. Flowers was assigned to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and deputized as a Special Deputy United States Marshal. Inspector Flowers responsibility was to investigate International and Domestic terrorism as it related to the United States. Presently, Inspector Flowers travels across the United States presenting training classes to law enforcement agencies regarding investigation techniques relating to street gangs.