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Arrest Of Alleged Queens Graffiti Vandal Leads To Alarming Discovery

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Queens made an alarming discovery during the arrest of a suspected graffiti artist who investigators say was armed with more than just cans of spray paint.

Now, he's facing some serious charges.

Some call it artwork, but the NYPD say the men caught on camera spray painting a subway train were committing acts of vandalism. One of the men, Keylan Levine, was recently arrested for the crime, but cops say it's what they found inside his apartment on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village that took them by surprise.

"It's pretty scary," said Detective Nino Navarra from the department's Transit Bureau. "I would have never in a million years thought that a person like that would have an arsenal like that."

In addition to a cache of more than 1,500 cans of spray paint and other graffiti paraphernalia, police found a handgun and an assault rifle. Levine's neighbors say they had no idea.

"The rifle and the handgun, that's what threw me off," said one of them.

Police say Levine is part of two graffiti crews with members nationwide. In New York, MTA trains are taken out of service to be cleaned once they're tagged. It's a hassle that impacts commuters everywhere.

Levine is accused of causing at least $5,400 worth of damage to MTA trains, and is facing two to four years in prison on the weapons charges.

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