Pac-Man And Pie: Deputies Investigate Water Tower Graffiti

October 5, 2011

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the vandalism of a North Escambia water tower.

Overnight Monday, someone spray-painted graffiti that included a slice of pie and apparent Pac-Man characters on the 120-foot tall Bratt-Davisville Water System water tower on North Highway 99 at Water Tank Road in Bratt.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident and pursuing leads.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.

Pictured: Graffiti painted on a Bratt water tower. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

61 Responses to “Pac-Man And Pie: Deputies Investigate Water Tower Graffiti”

  1. Come on... on October 9th, 2011 11:03 pm

    This is funny…I don’t live in Bratt anymore, but I remember pulling my share of pranks when i was in high school too. And ya’ll do too. mailbox baseball? toiletpapering trees, signs? Classes spray painting the stop signs? It’s a harmless prank fixable by some soap and alot of elbow grease. :)

  2. atmoe foe on October 7th, 2011 2:59 pm

    @ Meee:

    Come on, you’ve gotta know that were clowning about Bratt being a ghetto. Don ‘t you? Bratt ain’t changed in about fity years. Yes, I said fity!

  3. Meee on October 7th, 2011 12:51 pm

    I grew up near Bratt a long time ago and it was not a ghetto. I have ridden throught there over the past few years and it still doesn’t look like a ghetto. Since when did it become a town/city? Community seems to ring more true.
    All the bleeding heart liberals have gotten what they wanted and this is the result of it. No spanking kids at home, school, no discipline, but then again most of the adults probably aren’t disciplined either and I’m not just talking about Bratt, but the US in general. Add the ACLU in there to round out the problem.
    Oh, for the good old days when there was one deputy and one constable in the whole north end……and all problems were handled. And don’t cry out that it’s because it’s more populated these days. You also have 4-5 times more police in the area. It comes down to morals from Mom, Pop and kids.

  4. Kitty on October 7th, 2011 11:53 am

    @proud bratt mom
    You forgot to mention: Free Racing Stripes if you park here overnight.

  5. Proud Bratt Mom on October 7th, 2011 10:55 am

    Ghetto??????
    Come see for yourself!!
    Bratt is a wonderful community where we believe in higher education. We have a high school here on Hwy 4 right behind the cow pasture. We also have attractions like a family owned Stop-N-Rob at the crossing of Hwy 4 and 99, and lots of roadside vendors where you can get deer corn. The county maintains the area well since our STOP signs are used to check the pattern on our shotguns.
    Don’t forget to admire the artisan’s magnum opus on the local water tower.
    The area’s livestock is first class. (If you’re feeling manly)
    We are all family here, (sometimes we marry an “outsider”) and you will be as welcome as the parson’s daughter on Sunday afternoon.
    Sure, we have a little crime. But if you leave before dark, you’ll be ok.
    For your convenience, we’re only fifteen minutes from a Dollar General.
    Tourists are welcome. So bring your camera and a pocket full of small bills and join the fun.

  6. atmoe foe on October 7th, 2011 10:05 am

    @ Ray Dee:

    Yaeh, Bratt is just like The City of Compton. LOL

  7. Ray Dee Oh on October 7th, 2011 9:25 am

    I read this article 5 or 6 times. I did not see anything about painting a car. I agree, this is bad.
    I personally have had my house rolled, broke into and yes, even spray painted. My SUV was smahed while in my driveway. I can’t tell you how many of my kids’ bikes have been stolen.
    It makes you feel so violated.
    I think it was because of where I lived.
    You just can’t have nice things when you live in a bad neighborhood like Brownsville or Bratt.
    Bratt must be some kind of ghetto.

  8. Big Dave on October 7th, 2011 7:44 am

    We have the 17 Street Bridge to keep the “artists” occupied.

  9. Oversight on October 7th, 2011 6:22 am

    429SCJ:

    How about inside the delinquent’s own home! Let ‘em spray paint all the walls and then the owners could admire it 24/7 without defacing public or others’ property.

  10. 429SCJ on October 7th, 2011 5:20 am

    There were so many comments, I just skipped to the main article, which did not mention an elderly womans auto, being sprayed. I feel that is an outrage. When that 120gr Nosler Balistic Tip, comes at + 3000 fps. It will be all over. Please STOP!, before you get hurt. People will defend their property. I pray it does not take a tragedy to end this.

  11. 429SCJ on October 6th, 2011 7:36 pm

    Perhaps a dedicated wall for the grafitti artist to have a safe place to go, get their jollies. I had always wanted to climb the water tower, but it was one of those things I kept putting off. I am too old now, I would fall and bust my skull. I do not believe this to be a moral outrage, Im just glad no one fell and got hurt.

  12. Ifish4 on October 6th, 2011 7:07 pm

    @Tate dad

    It’s true about the car, I’m not going off the word of some commenter, I’m going by what I saw with my eyes. It’s a nice white car with 3 black stripes painted on it now.

  13. Angry Bird on October 6th, 2011 5:42 pm

    @ Occupant & Kitty.
    Just wanted to check and see if it would be ok if we came by later this evening and did a nice piece of art work on your house, you can even chose what color spray paint to use, hey better than that you can keep a lookout for the cops while we do it, promise we won’t use any profanity in it and scouts honor ” no speeding there or back home”!! Or would that be to much like putting the shoe on the other foot?

  14. Walnut Hill Neighbor on October 6th, 2011 5:28 pm

    Can’t wait until they catch the individuals involved. The elderly individual’s car that was painted will have to be repainted, as they have already taken it in to see if the paint can be removed, it can’t. So, Tate Dad, there is no painted door to your space ship, just a once white car that is covered in black paint. It could be coincidental that it is the same kind of paint and happened the same night, but I doubt it. Sooner or later they will find out who was involved, and at that point they will tell….the rest of the story!

  15. Sgt. Tom on October 6th, 2011 4:40 pm

    This would make a great adventure story for my new best selling book . If you are one of the brave persons who did this, I would love to hear all the details from your own lips. This is so cool!!
    Call me tonight at (850) 436-9620.
    Ask for the Watch Commander. (that’s my pen name) I will be ready to take notes or even record our conversation. We will have to use your real name for copyright purposes.

    Get ready to be famous!!!!!!

  16. Occupant on October 6th, 2011 4:07 pm

    You angry birds crack me up.
    Drive around up north and see what is on their water towers.
    I have only lived in the Wallnut Hill area for 2 years and I can tell you that this is not the worst thing that has happened here. And, as others have mentioned, this is not the worst they could do.

  17. Kitty on October 6th, 2011 3:37 pm

    I guess that zero tolerance thing is catching on in Bratt.
    Don’t you people love your kids?. We don’t even know that it was kids.
    I am glad to see that there was no obscenity. They must have been raised well.
    Sure, it was breaking the law.
    But how many of you righteous boneheads drove over the speed limit on your way home today?
    You have no respect for the law either.

  18. NorthEnd on October 6th, 2011 2:06 pm

    Folks, Be glad he or she was not out robbing a pharmacy, armed robbing someone or breaking in to your car or house.
    So sorry about the elderly ladies’ car.
    It is surely a sad state when one can be grateful that this is all that was done.

  19. KLO. on October 6th, 2011 12:03 pm

    Really ? All that work of jumping the fence, climbing up there, and the best you can do is pacman ? I mean.. come on. Either teach your kids to not be punks, or teach them to be a little more artistic…

  20. SHO-NUFF on October 6th, 2011 11:06 am

    Sounds like some “Brat’s” were up to no good in Bratt!

  21. Big Bopper on October 6th, 2011 11:04 am

    Vandalism is a crime and should absolutely never be condoned by
    anyone. Teens need to learn to be constructive, not destructive.
    Those of you who say we have all done these things, must tell yourselves
    that to justify your actions. Most people don’t do these things for your
    information If they all did the whole country would be messed up even
    worse than it is, but it is kids like these that are the problem with the filth
    that we see around town.

    No Respect, sometimes from children and the parents responsible for guiding them.

  22. SHO-NUFF on October 6th, 2011 11:04 am

    It sure was not me…
    With my fear of heights, I can”t stand to climb a 6 foot ladder much less a water tower!!

  23. dnutjob1 on October 6th, 2011 10:17 am

    For all of you bleeding hearts or harmless fun people, Bring your cars to a central spot and lets spray paint them and we will see how you feel about it then. Someone owes this elderly lady an apology and a car and then they should be taken to town and let them wash grafitti off the walls of buildings.

  24. fb on October 6th, 2011 10:11 am

    Doing random acts of vandalism is a right of passage of sorts, if they get cought the should be made to help clean it up, but it is really just another tattoo on this town!

  25. RB on October 6th, 2011 9:24 am

    To Elizabeth…thanks for a little humor..that is funny. I agree with Tate Dad….where in this article does it mention that “they” meaning these kids, spray painted a woman’s car.
    Maybe that was the phantom Lester McElwee that painted her car.

  26. reality on October 6th, 2011 6:51 am

    Kids just being kids? Most kids wouldn’t do something like this, its only the first step toward there crimal career…

  27. Tate dad on October 6th, 2011 4:51 am

    @Laura Ferrell

    Sorry must have missed the part if the story about kids painting peoples cars. Or were you going off the word of a “commentor” who is likely a troll trying to stir the pot. Really quite nieve IMO.

    P.S. I heard that they spray painted a door and then stepped through it to get to a space ship and then flew away…

  28. Everett on October 6th, 2011 12:14 am

    Be on the look out for the “Mario Brothers” of “Donkey Kong”. Heard they were seen in the area lately.

    Just kids (likely) not thinking. I’ve climbed my share of water towers and walked several miles of railroad tracks 30 years ago and we all turned out fine. We never painted anything because we couldn’t afford spray paint No one was robbed or murdered not that I condone this type of behavior as I’ve gotten older. We’ve all done our share of dangerous and stupid stuff.

  29. Bratt mom of 3 on October 5th, 2011 11:35 pm

    I can not believe children would do this ! Good grief, if these were my kids they would have a LOT of explaining to do and be punished for this crime, unreal ! I hope whomever did this can learn before they get themselves just like the other lady said, in PRISON ! So glad nobody was hurt but this is ridiculous ! If my kids did something even close to this I think I would stroke out !

  30. mom on October 5th, 2011 10:58 pm

    stop making excuses for these disrepectful bratts……….thats whats wrong with our society. when you hold no one accountable for what they do some eventually end up in the place i work….PRISON!!!…and get this, they are still making excuses for thier bad behaviour…..just like they were taught at home….WAKE UP PARENTS!!!!!

  31. s on October 5th, 2011 10:43 pm

    As a mother I am thankful no one was hurt… one wrong step and we would have been grieving the loss of a child. I would punish my child if involved, but my fear for what “could have” happened would be of more concern to me than the paint. I hope they find the children so hopefully they can explain to them how dangerous this was…

  32. Elizabeth on October 5th, 2011 10:39 pm

    At least it doesn’t say “Billy Bob loves Charlene.”

  33. Concerned on October 5th, 2011 9:14 pm

    Really? Thanks for wasting my hard earned money. Love paying taxes for something like this!! I was once a kid too, but at least I never damaged public and/or private property. As the kids say these days… Just Sayin’

  34. Laura Ferrell on October 5th, 2011 9:07 pm

    They spray painted an elderly woman’s car ! It was on her private property. Is that just kids having fun? Give me a break. That was and is a criminal act and it’s also shameful. Oh yeah, look on your children’s shoes, clothes, and at their fingers for any signs spray paint involvement – espically if you don’t know where your children were. Turn them in and do them a favor now. It might save them (and you) a much harder time later on in life !

  35. just asking on October 5th, 2011 8:18 pm

    Is that a flag after the pacman saying ??? nation.

  36. Tate dad on October 5th, 2011 7:04 pm

    C’ mon folks, these kids sprayed Pac Man and pie graffiti….

    Could have been a lot worse like…. curse words, sexual innuendo, racist remarks, etc.

    I know graffiti is illegal, but I was once a kid too….

  37. Walnut Hill Neighbor on October 5th, 2011 5:57 pm

    “Kids may be kids”, since when is breaking the law acceptable? It appears that the water tower is not the only thing that the ‘kids who may be kids” spray painted last night. I just heard that an elderly neighbor of mine had their car spray painted. This individual has never done anything to hurt anyone, lives alone, and is in their 80’s. I hope they catch these vandals, and they have to make restitution and get a couple hundred hours of community service tacked on to that.

  38. Respect on October 5th, 2011 3:20 pm

    Kids (and some adults) have no respect for others. You would not want any of your property destroyed. It cost a lot of money for water tanks to be painted. People just do not think about the consiquences of their actions, especially when it comes to someone elses property. If you have to destroy something, make sure it is your own property.

  39. Kitty on October 5th, 2011 2:05 pm

    What is the big deal?
    This is an age old tradition practiced all over the country.
    God bless America. Pray for our children.

  40. MOM on October 5th, 2011 1:10 pm

    don’t worry, they will be so proud of what they did, they will tell on themselves. It doesn’t really matter that they did this, kids are gonna do stupid things, but what if one of them had of fallen to their deaths? It could have happened and what for, a little graffiti? Someone would have lost a child , brother, sister, grandchild etc….would have been sad…

  41. bratt on October 5th, 2011 1:05 pm

    Ur rite kids have no respect fer there parents er there guardians. It prolly is tha same punks that vandalised tha park. I like lookn at tha train cars as well wen I c them…..another thang is that juz cause there ain’t no bowling alley er whatever else don’t give em tha rite to mess stuff up. Teenagers hear all this stuff about how teens act up so they thank its ok its juz normal but I didn’t act up n any way n I’m n my early 20’s I never rolled houses er nuthn immature like these kids do today. Tha hang out fer tha teens was behind coopers n they had fights n all kinda stuff of stuff so they weren’t allowed to hang there anymore. If we had stuff fer em to do around here there’s no telln what kinda trouble these punks would get into

  42. RB on October 5th, 2011 12:55 pm

    I’d much rather know they planned and carried out painting graffiti on a water tower than planning and carrying out a school massacre.
    The water tower was painted when I was in school many years ago, and it was exciting to try to figure out who did it & when we did find out it was even funnier. One of the least expected people in probably the whole school helped. That person was then and still is today an awesome, really “good” person. It was done in fun.
    If perhaps one of those students back then had fallen (God forbid) there would have been no law suit, etc., but since most everyone this day & time is “lawsuit happy” well…….
    I am in no way encouraging or trying to promote vandalism, but sometimes kids will be kids.
    If you want to punish them, have them work & buy the paint & re-paint the tower. It probably could use a new coat anyway.
    And by all means have them use every safety precaution when climbing the tower to re-paint it.
    If you want good, classy grafitti then find a renowned artist to paint it so it will be up to every one’s standards.
    By the way, I think if these kids were up to no good and had a terrorist act in mind, they would not have painted grafitti….just sayin”

  43. Oversight on October 5th, 2011 12:35 pm

    Tis the season… and soon you’ll have parents driving kids around rolling houses too, and if they’re caught, they should be ticketed for littering and trespassing. Parents, step-up and take responsibility for your out-of-control kids! Oh, that’s right, they’re part of the problem to begin with!

  44. Molino-Anon on October 5th, 2011 12:28 pm

    Wouldn’t it be sad if it were the same kids that done the graffiti to the park awhile back?

  45. tallyho on October 5th, 2011 12:20 pm

    If and when the kids are caught then these people that think that kids will be kids should have to pay for the damage to the tower. I’m sure it would be around 50 tp 80 housand for the people to repaint and insurance for the job. And if the kids had fell off the tower then that would be a law suit for not haveing the tank inside chain link and miltary wire. The old ones as some people say had more respect for the parents then they do now.

  46. waterboy on October 5th, 2011 12:20 pm

    Per Home Land Security, any acts against a public utility can be construed as a terrorist act subject to FBI investigation and arrest. Sounds far fetched but after 9/11, many utilities installed intrusion devices that would detect trespassers and call police who would have guns pulled.

  47. James Broel on October 5th, 2011 12:08 pm

    FLA GIRL , no offense intended but kids that do these things should have better upbringing and we wouldn’t be even seeing this vandalism. It’s not like these kids are doing this on their personal property. These kids are climbing a water tower and putting this art on private property. So likely we will have to get someone from the water authority to pay to have it removed. We don’t need to excuse the events these individuals accomplished. I say punish them…but like juveniles…nothing will be done to them.

  48. atmoe foe on October 5th, 2011 12:02 pm

    @ FLA GIRL:

    You are correct, there isn’t anything available around here to keep our kids occupied. But I don’t see arcades, skating rinks, bowling alleys etc. surviving in our area. We had several pool halls and a bowling alley when I was a teen in Atmore and to be honest it actually introduced me to more trouble than it kept me out of. I’ve got 3 kids and I’m no expert on raising children, but I also understand the undeveloped minds of youths are very capable of making mistakes. So as a parent what do you do, keep them sheltered or allow them there freedom? I think it’s probably somewhere in-between and alot of praying.

  49. hawghead on October 5th, 2011 10:27 am

    It may be a message from aliens……The plans for a time machine or something……but most likely it was just kids having fun……

  50. FLA GIRL on October 5th, 2011 9:51 am

    We adults need to keep in mind that teenagers just do this sort of thing for fun. I am sure that many of us did some unauthorized “art” on property not belonging to us! From knocking down mailboxes and street signs, to rolling trees with bath tissue, to writing “Class of ??” on a school roof…it is bothersome to us adults but loads of fun to kids. Try to remember what it was like waaaay baaaaack when you were young. If there were something for the young people to do around here, they may not cause so much mischief. No arcades, bowling alley, skating rink, hamburger hangouts, NOTHING around here! I can hardly blame the kids for making their own fun. Not saying it’s right, but I do understand the mind of a teenager.

  51. atmoe foe on October 5th, 2011 9:46 am

    That must be one tall 5 year old! LOL

  52. Cs on October 5th, 2011 9:00 am

    might be someon’s nickname….i’m sure they’ll start with that

  53. Bratt Resident on October 5th, 2011 8:50 am

    Does anybody remember how long it’s been since someone did this around here? Seems like about 25-30 years.

  54. tallyho on October 5th, 2011 8:48 am

    Painting on someone’s property is not art. If it is a water tower, train or your home.
    IT IS AGAINST THE LAW. Where were your kids last night?

  55. RB on October 5th, 2011 8:34 am

    Wasn’t it supposed to be painted John Deere green?? That’s what the song says anyway…….

  56. Lacy on October 5th, 2011 8:06 am

    I have to agree with everybody else. If your going to paint or destroy something, make it look good…I actually like looking at the “art” on the train cars as they go by cause its looks really good. But this “junk” looks like a 1st grader did it…Not saying that vandalism is a good thing but if your gona do it, do it right….

  57. Molino-Anon on October 5th, 2011 6:50 am

    This is vandalism, just like what happened to the park. Next time, have a plan, make some stencils, create something beautiful to share with the community, something that makes a statement, and expresses what we as a community stand for.

    This was spray painting just for the sake of messing something up, Pac-Man really? That is so early 80’s… pie? c’mon now… do you even know what the Anarchy symbol stands for?

    My guess looking at the graffiti is that this person is into skateboarding, lives close by the tower, is into retro arcade games, loves pie, and listens to punk music. Find some one living near the tower like that and you’ll have your perp.

  58. Meforone on October 5th, 2011 5:27 am

    Your right , look for someone who flunked art. !!!

  59. deBugger on October 5th, 2011 4:56 am

    PacMan with spikes, Pie, some kind of crazy man, an “Anarchy” symbol— hmmmmmmmmmmmm…

    apparently we have some sort of criminal mastermind @ work here…

  60. JW on October 5th, 2011 4:16 am

    …If you spray paint the water tower to defend your sister’s honor, you might be a…….

  61. huh on October 5th, 2011 12:07 am

    They could have at least made it nice art work