3 charged in isle graffiti case

WAILUKU - Three men have been charged with causing thousands of dollars in damage through graffiti that defaced neighborhoods in Central and South Maui in 2006 and 2007.

During his arraignment Wednesday in 2nd Circuit Court, Leopold Waiau pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree criminal property damage. An Aug. 10 trial was set for the 21-year-old Kahului resident, who is free on a $9,960 bail bond.

Arraignments were delayed until Wednesday for co-defendants Joey Mattos, 23, of Kihei, and Ian-Mark Maculam, 20, of Kahului. Each is also charged with second-degree criminal property damage. Both were released after posting bail - set at $3,565 for Mattos and $8,880 for Maculam.

According to court records, the three men were among four adults and three juveniles identified as being responsible for more than 100 graffiti cases documented from November 2006 to May 2007.

The vandalism was done to stop signs, mailboxes, telephone and electrical utility boxes, stores, businesses and walls fronting houses.

Police juvenile investigators linked the graffiti by a common moniker.

A break in the case occurred when a March 2007 surveillance video showed a male on Church Street in Wailuku about the time a Maui Electric Co. box was vandalized in the area. The male was identified as Maculam, who was a Maui High School student at the time, according to court records. Police reported that all seven suspects confessed.

Waiau was responsible for 50 graffiti cases in Wailuku and Kahului that resulted in $9,339 in damage, police reported. Mattos was tied to 33 cases in Central Maui and Kihei with $7,665 in damage, and Maculam was associated with 42 cases in Central Maui and Kihei with $8,780 in damage.

A conviction on the felony charge of second-degree criminal property damage carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

Court records identify the other suspects as a 23-year-old man and three boys. At the time, two were 17 and one was 16.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

* This story includes a correction from the original published on Thursday, June 4, 2009. An incorrect bail amount was listed for Joey Mattos. The Maui News apologizes for the error.