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Sunnyvale Sees Spike In Gang Graffiti

SUNNYVALE (KCBS) - There's been a recent rise in gang-related graffiti in the city of Sunnyvale, with gang-tags showing up on commercial buildings, light poles, even small businesses, according to police.

KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:

Cryptic graffiti reading "VVS" showed up about three weeks ago on Carlos Gonzales' cell phone store.

"Normally this wall is very clean of graffiti, so I don't know why people write on this wall," said Gonzales.

Police say gang members are likely marking their territory with Roman numerals.

"The XIVs, the X111s, we've seen that type of stuff on different buildings on the north side of our city," said Captain Dave Verbrugge.

He said he's not sure why it's happening now since they haven't seen a corresponding rise in other gang activity.

"We don't have the type of gang problem that you'll see in bigger cities like L.A. or New York where they take over a whole barrio or something," said Berbugge.

Police are encouraging anyone who sees graffiti to call the city immediately for help in cleaning it up, although any repainting may have to wait until the rain stops.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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