An Iraq war vet who moonlighted as an interstate serial graffiti vandal was sentenced to six months in jail yesterday for painting nine T trains with massive murals on a three-day tagging spree in May.
T police said Chicago-native Jose Alvarez, 25, is a member of the international graffiti crew MUL — or Made U Look. He pleaded guilty to nine counts of vandalizing MBTA property for spray-painting his tag “WOES” on four Red Line trains at the Codman storage yard in Dorchester and five Orange Line trains at Forest Hills on May 5-7. The guerrilla art project cost the T an estimated $18,000.
“A six-month sentence is more than reasonable considering the amount of damage he caused,” Judge Kenneth Fiandaca said in granting prosecutor Gretchen Sherwood’s request for serious jail time for Alvarez’s “significant graffiti vandalism.” He was given credit for three months served awaiting trial and has three months to serve
Alvarez, a sophomore at Harold Washington College in Chicago, served six months at Rikers Island for graffiti in New York City and is suspected of tagging BART trains in San Francisco, court papers said. He saw combat with the Army in Iraq, said his attorney, Kim Foster.
“Judge, you will not see him back in Massachusetts,” Foster said. “Hopefully, he will find a better outlet for his art.”
Transit Police Lt. Nancy O’Loughlin said Alvarez’s license plate, “WOESDC5,” helped link him to the crime.
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