Graffiti vandal turns teacher

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Los Angeles resident John Estrada says he's abandoned illegal graffiti to teach younger artists how to put their street skills to better use.

Estrada, 42, teaches a class called Skillz 'N Action at the Santana House, named after musician Carlos Santana, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. The house is part of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center's violence intervention program.

Estrada teaches young graffiti artists, called "taggers," how to control the flow of paint from their spray cans and how to make their street murals stand out -- legally.

"It's teaching us you should keep doing it, but legally," said 20-year-old Ramon Marcos, a tagger who used to spray his art on buildings, overpasses and utility poles.

Marcos, who attends Los Angeles Trade Technical College, said he now understands urban art should be used for more than vandalizing property. To that end, Marcos recently persuaded a shop owner to let him paint her storefront, the Times reported.