Juggalos Busted in Mesa After Deaf School Break-Ins; Three Men Left "Juggalo-Specific" Graffiti, Cops Say

Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Raymond Steele, Levi Blanton and Russell Westergard Are the Juggalos a "criminal street gang" or not? We say no. Mesa police -- in this case, anyway -- say yes. Cops busted a trio of woop-woopers on Wednesday in connection with four break-ins at a deaf school. According...

By Ray Stern

July 17, 2009

Audio By Carbonatix

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Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Raymond Steele, Levi Blanton and Russell Westergard

Are the Juggalos a "criminal street gang" or not?

We say no. Mesa police -- in this case, anyway -- say yes.

Cops busted a trio of woop-woopers on Wednesday in connection with four break-ins at a deaf school. According to the East Valley Tribune today, the three men vandalized computer monitors, threw paint around and stole projectors.

As New Times music editor Martin Cizmar blogged today, a Tempe concert date was recently announced for Insane Clown Posse, the band to which Juggalos pay homage.

Looks like these three Mesa clowns, Raymond Steele, Russell Westergard and Levi Blanton, were just rustled up some pre-show publicity.

But as with other Juggalos who commit crimes, these guys appear to be another case of a few accused apples spoiling the barrel.

Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.

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