Trend Hits Guymon Full Force, Officers Make Arrests

TRAVIS RUIZ/The GDH
This dumpster behind Shear Perfection at the Northridge Shopping Center is just one example of the many recent instances of vandalism and graffiti in Guymon. Four juveniles were apprehended earlier this week in connection with these crimes. 

By TRAVIS A. RUIZ
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Guymon residents may have been noticing more graffiti than usual as they travel throughout the city. Four juveniles were taken into custody this week in connection to a string of graffiti and vandalisms throughout the City of Guymon.
Several areas of town had been vandalized with graffiti, including behind the Northridge Shopping Center, Homer Long School, stop signs and dumpsters. City of Guymon Chief of Police, Eddie Adamson says in the last two weeks, reports of graffiti were on the rise causing his department to be on heightened patrol.
"Once it (vandalism and graffiti writing) starts, they usually continue doing it until they are forced to stop," he said.
The District Attorney Task Force is the agency that caught four juveniles earlier in the week. In an investigation with the Guymon Police Department, it was concluded that these four juveniles were responsible for several of the graffiti markings throughout the city.
Once taken into custody, the four juveniles admitted to several of the recent vandalisms and were taken into custody. The ages of the juveniles arrested were 13, 14, 16 and 17. Two were from Guymon and the other two were from Kansas City. All four juveniles are being charged with one felony count of injury to a public building and four misdemeanor counts of malicious injury to private property.
The two local juveniles were released to their guardians and the other two were taken to the Texas County Juvenile Detention Center in Hooker. They will now be tried in municipal court.
The graffiti was mostly gang related and featured the number 13. Most of the vandalism is now cleaned up and painted over.
Chief Adamson says his department will do whatever it takes to keep this problem under control.
"We take this stuff seriously," he said. "We are doing everything we can to keep these kids off the streets."
A new program that is having the finishing touches applied is the City's new juvenile cleanup program. This program allows juveniles the option to clean up vandalized areas of town as their punishment. Adamson says this will save time in court and will better punishment for the offenders.
"We don't want gangs to kick back up in Guymon," said Adamson. "All the agencies are working together to prevent this."
Anyone with information about this recent surge of graffiti writing or to report graffiti writing is asked to call the Guymon Police Department at (580) 338-6525.