Devin 'Thor' Dickey, Young Valley Tagger, Arrested by Burbank Police for Vandalism -- 'Just the Start' of Crackdown on Graffiti Crew

pixiecanfly via Tumblr

Burbank police announce today that two young taggers they arrested on November 3 -- Devin Dickey, 20, and an unnamed 16-year-old girl -- are possibly facing felony charges after they allegedly vandalized multiple pieces of property across the San Fernando Valley.

Investigators believe that Dickey and the teen girl belong to a prolific tagging crew...

... that has also hit Burbank, North Hollywood, Sun Valley, Arleta, San Fernando and Toluca Lake, Officer Joshua Kendrick tells City News Service. He says the two arrests are "just the start" of more to come.

Dickey identifies himself as tagger "Thor" on both his Facebook and Tumblr profiles. Another user called pixiecanfly tagged him in the following photos:

pixiecanfly via Tumblr

"I will always have a [huge] spot in my heart for this boy<3"

pixiecanfly via Tumblr

Ironically, the Burbank Leader featured Dickey in a January 2010 story about young people translating their street-art style into T-shirt designs instead of illegal graffiti.

"You don't have to go and vandalize the streets," said designer and Dopest Graffiti Aliens owner Devin Dickey, 18, a Burbank High School student. "You know you're going to have people wearing your clothes."

If the allegations against him are true, it seems that attitude didn't last long. It's unclear if he still incorporates the moniker "Dopest Graffiti Aliens" into his work, but similar combinations -- like "DGA Krew" and "Dopest Graffiti Artist Klan" -- appear elsewhere in his Tumblr activity.

It's also worth nothing that about two-and-a-half weeks ago, on October 24, Dickey posted to his Facebook: "Got off probation today! All charges droped thank GOD(: this is a proud day for myselffff I made it this far and will keep my head up and keep life pushinggggh!!!"

We've contacted Officer Kendrick for more information on the arrestees' charges and street-art history. He did tell City News, though, that Dickey's crew is also "suspected of vandalizing Caltrans property along the Golden State (5) Freeway and the Ventura (134) Freeway."

Let's just say this: In the recent past, L.A. County courts have not taken kindly to graffiti artists with that kind of record -- even once they clean up their act. And that's an understatement.

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]