Keep weedin’ ’em out. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said after a Hillsville, Virginia teen was arrested following reports that he was running an unlicensed tattoo studio from his apartment. After police turned up and did a search, the reports turned out to be true – William Austin Rodriguez was in fact running an illegal tattoo studio where he performed tattoos on young girls below the age of 18.
‘Officers executed a search warrant at his home and seized tattoo equipment, police said.
He’s been charged with two counts of tattooing persons less than 18 years of age without parental consent, two counts of felony child endangerment, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of operating a tattoo parlor without a permit.’
I can’t really say much more about this sort of thing other than what I’ve said before. But, I can definitely relay my unwavering support to taking these scratchers down wherever they may be lurking. They’re killing tattoo. Rodriguez is currently chillin’ in the New River Valley Jail where he’ll most likely be until his trial, given that his bail is set at $2,500.
One last thing: to all the wannabe tattooists out there who think illegally tattooing underage clients is the way to become a legitimate tattooist – it isn’t. Get off your ass, work hard and be dedicated to your goal. Scratching is nothing more than pure laziness and sooner or later you’ll get caught and when that happens, you’ll be lounging in a prison somewhere. If you truly love tattoo, then play by the rules. It won’t happen over night, but it will happen. You just have to work for it.