An American who graffitied Melbourne buildings and posted pictures of his work on his webpage has been handed a suspended jail sentence.
(Name removed), known by his tag R***k, promised on his Twitter page to "paint as much as I can" while in Melbourne.
During his two-week spree (No name) tagged several inner Melbourne buildings, including St Vincent's Hospital, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Thursday.
He also sprayed a train and train overpasses.
Mr R's decision to post the graffiti on his website and Twitter page proved to be his downfall.
Police seized his camera, mobile phone and laptop when they arrested him at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday as he tried to go home to the United States.
He spent Wednesday night and much of Thursday in custody.
In court later on Thursday, Mr R, 32, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to nine counts of criminal damage.
The court heard R came to Australia on October 13 to participate in a legal graffiti event that was cancelled because the promoter encountered financial troubles.
Following the cancellation he wrote: "F*** this shit. I am going to paint as much as I can and then get the f*** out of here."
As he left the Melbourne Custody Centre, R said he was sorry for what he had done.
"I feel very remorseful, very remorseful," he said.
Asked if he knew what he was doing was illegal he replied: "Shit happens, what are you going to do?"
"I just do what I do. I came here, I did some stuff, maybe I did some things I shouldn't have done, I apologise," he said.
Mr R said it would not be wise for him to comment on whether he thought he had improved Melbourne.
Magistrate Ian von Einem was told Williams had no prior convictions.
Sentencing R, Mr von Einem said he had done a disservice to those pushing for greater acceptance of graffiti's legitimacy.
The court was told R had legitimate exhibitions coming up in Los Angeles and Miami.
Mr von Einem sentenced R to nine months prison, wholly suspended for two years.
He also ordered R pay $15,340 in damages.
Leaving court, R joked that the currency exchange wasn't good and he couldn't have picked a worse time to have to pay a fine.
(Name removed), known by his tag R***k, promised on his Twitter page to "paint as much as I can" while in Melbourne.
During his two-week spree (No name) tagged several inner Melbourne buildings, including St Vincent's Hospital, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Thursday.
He also sprayed a train and train overpasses.
Mr R's decision to post the graffiti on his website and Twitter page proved to be his downfall.
Police seized his camera, mobile phone and laptop when they arrested him at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday as he tried to go home to the United States.
He spent Wednesday night and much of Thursday in custody.
In court later on Thursday, Mr R, 32, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to nine counts of criminal damage.
The court heard R came to Australia on October 13 to participate in a legal graffiti event that was cancelled because the promoter encountered financial troubles.
Following the cancellation he wrote: "F*** this shit. I am going to paint as much as I can and then get the f*** out of here."
As he left the Melbourne Custody Centre, R said he was sorry for what he had done.
"I feel very remorseful, very remorseful," he said.
Asked if he knew what he was doing was illegal he replied: "Shit happens, what are you going to do?"
"I just do what I do. I came here, I did some stuff, maybe I did some things I shouldn't have done, I apologise," he said.
Mr R said it would not be wise for him to comment on whether he thought he had improved Melbourne.
Magistrate Ian von Einem was told Williams had no prior convictions.
Sentencing R, Mr von Einem said he had done a disservice to those pushing for greater acceptance of graffiti's legitimacy.
The court was told R had legitimate exhibitions coming up in Los Angeles and Miami.
Mr von Einem sentenced R to nine months prison, wholly suspended for two years.
He also ordered R pay $15,340 in damages.
Leaving court, R joked that the currency exchange wasn't good and he couldn't have picked a worse time to have to pay a fine.
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