A man accused of leaving a trail of graffiti in Billings must spend the months before his October trial without his tool: spray paint.
Anthony Harbolt, 32, faces a criminal mischief charge in connection with the conspicuous tags that prosecutors allege he sprayed at numerous sites across the city. His arraignment Friday arrived as local authorities have ramped up their anti-graffiti efforts.
Because the damage exceeded $1,500, Harbolt could face up to $50,000 in fines and a prison term of up to 10 years if convicted of the felony.
Harbolt pleaded not guilty, and a county judge set the terms of his release. Harbolt must avoid visiting any of the places prosecutors alleged he tagged, and he must attend pretrial check-ins twice monthly.
And, he must live without spray paint.
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“That’s a new one,” said Judge Ashley Harada, who oversaw the arraignment.
Harbolt must also remain employed — and Harada said he doesn’t need the colorful cans for his industrial job. He will face trial Oct. 28, Deputy County Attorney Sabrina Currie told the Gazette.
County prosecutors said a Billings police sergeant saw “several cans of spray paint” and graffiti at the King Avenue West overpass in March. Police allegedly found Harbolt’s fingerprints on the cans, according to a court filing.
Police also found a Facebook profile with the username “Autopsy Anthony” that they said “appeared to match known photographs” of Harbolt and included images of his alleged “TWELVE” tag.
As of Friday, an “Autopsy Anthony” profile with images appearing to depict Harbolt did not appear to include images of graffiti. When viewed by the Gazette, the profile appeared to describe its owner as a photographer, writer, “Merch Guy” and “Magic Creator.”
Prosecutors alleged he instead marred the Magic City with several more “TWELVE” tags. The affected sites included the Billings Food Bank, overpasses and local businesses, resulting in thousands of dollars in estimated graffiti abatement.
When confronted by the sergeant this week, Harbolt allegedly said, “I haven’t done graffiti in a while, but I will own up to anything I have done.” He also wore a hard hat with the words “TWELVE” and “IDK,” which Harbolt said stands for “I don’t know” and refers to his “crew,” according to the filing.
Harbolt appeared via video link in his Friday arraignment and briskly answered questions posed by the judge. He does not appear to have an assigned attorney yet, Currie said.
Billings officials have recently ramped up their battle against serial scribbling. A city office unveiled a $500 reward program to identify perpetrators amid a rash of graffiti on the Rimrocks.
