§ 13-1-19.1. Vandalism and graffiti.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person willfully or maliciously to destroy, damage, injure or deface, in whole or in part, any public building, public facility, or publicly-owned personal property.

(b)

It shall be unlawful for any person willfully or maliciously to destroy, damage, injure or deface, in whole or in part, any private building, private facility or privately-owned personal property; provided, that the provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable in the event the damage to such private property is $1,000 or greater. The amount of damage caused by the destruction, damage, injury or defacing of such private property may be established by proof of the fair market cost of repair or fair market replacement value of the property.

(c)

Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class l misdemeanor.

(d)

Upon a finding of guilt of a violation of this section in any case tried before the court without a jury, in the event the violation constitutes a first offense under this section which results in property damage or loss, the court, without entering a judgment of guilt, upon motion of the defendant, may defer further proceedings and place the defendant on probation pending completion of a plan of community service work. If the defendant fails or refuses to complete the community service work as ordered by the court, the court may make final disposition of the case and proceed as otherwise provided. If the community service work is completed as the court prescribes, the court may discharge the defendant and dismiss the proceedings against him. Such discharge and dismissal shall be without adjudication of guilt, and shall be a conviction only for the purpose of applying this section in subsequent proceedings.

(e)

Community service work, to the extent feasible, shall include the repair, restoration or replacement of damage or defacement to property within the city, and may include clean-up, beautification, landscaping or other similar community service work within the city. The sheriff of the city shall supervise the performance of any community service work required and report thereon to the court imposing such requirement. At or before the time of sentencing a defendant convicted for violating this section, the court shall receive and consider any plan for making restitution or performing community service work submitted by the defendant. The court shall also receive and consider the recommendations of the city manager concerning the plan.

(f)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person convicted for a violation of this section shall be placed on probation or have his sentence suspended unless such person shall make at least partial restitution for such property damage or has been compelled to perform community service work, or both, as is more particularly set forth in section 19.2-305.1 of the Code of the Virginia, 1950, as amended.

(g)

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the intake and other procedures, including disposition, of the juvenile and domestic relations court where the perpetrator of a violation is subject to the jurisdiction of said court. (Ord. No. 3935, 6/14/97, Sec. 5)