GIRAFA, San Francisco
Date: 2009.
Punishment: $38,000 in restitution, three years probation.
When San Jose police caught GIRAFA in 2009, they called the artist behind the nursery-style art one of "the most prolific graffiti artists in the Bay Area." He was charged with ten felony cases estimated to be worth $40,000 in damages.
"I paint giraffes to bring awareness that wild animals don't belong in zoos," he once told graff website I Love Graffiti. "Just like a painted giraffe doesn't belong on a rooftop, a city wall, or a delivery truck, right?”
GIRAFA pleaded guilty to two counts of felony vandalism and two counts of misdemeanor vandalism. He was ordered to pay $38,000 in damages to the city and property owners.
