Crime

Kale O'Donnell Bust: Inside Investigation Into Graffiti Tagger "Supergay Robot XD"


Kale O'Donnell has been arrested on suspicion of causing approximately $13,000 in damage by scrawling graffiti across Colorado Springs.

Suspected number of tags: 245.

But arguably more interesting than the case itself is the manner in which O'Donnell was caught — a social-media-heavy investigation that allegedly revealed him to be Elak Liennodo ("Kale O'Donnell" spelled backwards), also known as "Supergay Robot XD."

See photos and get details from O'Donnell's arrest warrant, on view below.

This past December, according to the document, a Colorado Springs police officer assigned to the department's Downtown Area Response Team (DART) was informed about hundreds of graffiti tags that had popped up in the area, most sporting the moniker "BEYOG."

Others nearby read "CEO" and "DEKA"

We've sprinkled examples of the not particularly artistic tags supplied by the Colorado Springs Police Department throughout this post.

Shortly thereafter, an investigator began searching for the tags on Flickr, and he soon found a likely page that displayed the word "BEYOG."

Hashtags on the page included: #eak, #sgr, #beyog, #colorado, #CO, #Street, #art, #streetart, #spraypaint, #hoodshit, #nightadventures, #graff, #graffiti, #tags, #throwie.

Another investigator was familiar with the tag CEO, and the warrant notes that officers were able to find an online conversation between CEO and BEYOG revealing that the latter made his own paint, which he dubbed "Chrome cum."

Other investigators subsequently traced the "BEYOG" hashtag through Instagram to a Facebook page belonging to one Francesca Dee Medeiros.

Among those listed as a Facebook friend was "Supergay Robot XD (Elak Liennodo)."

Also included were several photos of Medeiros with O'Donnell standing next to graffiti tags department personnel had previously "abated."

That was enough to prompt the arrest of O'Donnell on suspicion of criminal mischief, a class 5 felony.

The department adds: "The Graffiti Removal Team was started as pilot project in November of 2007. Since its inception the team has cleaned up over 103,000 graffiti tags throughout Colorado Springs. The team consists of two full-time and two part-time employees. Additionally the team receives assistance from people completing court ordered community service hours. Over 21,000 community service hours have been logged with the team. Graffiti team members also address property cleanup and quality of life issues throughout the city."

Look below to see the aforementioned arrest report, followed by O'Donnell's double mug shot.

Kale O'Donnell Arrest Affidavit


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Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.
Contact: Michael Roberts

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