NYPD investigators charged Fernando “Cope2” Carlo with two counts of felony criminal mischief and one count of making graffiti after he was caught spray-painting at a subway yard. According to the New York Daily News, Carlo initially tried to explain the situation to nearby officers.
“It was a nighttime hit,” Cope told officers. “I don’t paint trains in the daytime. I went through the side gate by the gas station. I buffed out my tag, COPE. I just did it and drove away.”
The now 41-year-old Cope rose to fame during the ’70’s and ’80’s tagging subway trains. He was able to parlay his cult status in the Hip Hop and graffiti community into mainstream success, including designing the artwork for the 1992 Boogie Down Productions album, Sex And Violence. In addition to being commissioned to incorporate graffiti art into projects for Adidas and Converse, Cope was also featured in Marc Ecko’s 2006 video game, “Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure,” as one of the graffiti legends.
“He seemed to be a good guy and he said he had left crime in the past,” City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. told the Daily News. “I’m actually sad to hear about this.”
