Cory DeLeon 18-year-old could receive a gross mis- demeanor instead of a felony on his record

An 18-year-old who caused thousands of dollars of graffiti damage to Southern Nevada overpasses and sound walls is going to boot camp.

Cory DeLeon, whose monikers have been as large as 15 feet high and 35 feet long, was arrested Dec. 28 and charged with nine counts of defacing property.

He pleaded guilty to one of those counts in exchange for five years of probation.

But on Thursday, District Judge Douglas Herndon, who voiced frustration with the city's growing graffiti problem, instead gave him 180 days of hard work and regimental discipline, also known as boot camp.

If DeLeon completes the program successfully, he'll receive a gross misdemeanor instead of a felony on his record.

"This is a bunch of stupid crap," Herndon said of graffiti.

The judge questioned why taxpayers should have to pay for the damage DeLeon and others have created just so that they can display their "stupid-ass moniker."

Prosecutor Sonia Jimenez asked that DeLeon also perform community service in Southern Nevada to help clean up graffiti.

She said he still thinks of graffiti as a form of expression, based on letters to the court.

DeLeon apologized in court Thursday.

"I realized it's not a way to express yourself," he said.

"When?" Herndon interrupted. "The first three times you were arrested for it, you didn't realize it?"

DeLeon was arrested as a juvenile on graffiti charges, but he said in court that he never did more than a night in juvenile detention. When he was arrested last year, he spent 30 days in the Clark County Detention Center.

His bail, before pleading guilty, was set at $200,000.

DeLeon said he realized the impact of his actions when he could not get out of jail to attend the funeral of his 24-year-old brother, who was stabbed to death.

"You didn't stop until you became an adult, and now it's a felony," Herndon said.

DeLeon's attorney, Garrett Ogata, said after the sentencing that perhaps boot camp would be better for DeLeon than the five years of probation he would have had to do under the original plea agreement, which could have been more difficult for him to successfully complete.

DeLeon also will have to pay restitution for the more than $3,500 in damage police say he committed.