A notorious vandal pleaded guilty Friday to defacing a series of MBTA trains during a 2005 spray-painting spree, taking a jail sentence and order of restitution rather than face trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

JIM CLAY HARPER (D.O.B. 1/18/85) of Wilmette, Illinois, pleaded guilty to seven counts of vandalizing property for spray painting his tag, “ETHER,” on a series of Red, Orange, and Blue Line train cars five years ago. Dorchester District Court Judge Rosalind Miller sentenced him to on year in a house of correction with six months to serve and the balance suspended for a probationary period of one year. Miller also ordered Harper to pay $10,000 in restitution to the MBTA.

Beginning in early June 2005, MBTA Transit Police noticed a considerable increase in graffiti vandalism. Specifically, they noticed the tag “ETHER” on Red Line trains in the Codman Yard rail yard, Orange Line trains at Forest Hills train station, and Blue Line trains at Orient Heights.

Harper was identified as the culprit in part through his collaboration with DANIELLE BREMNER (D.O.B. 2/16/82), who used the tag “UTAH” when she spray-painted Back Bay residences in 2006. Bremner pleaded guilty last year, receiving her own six-month jail term and five-figure restitution order.

On Aug. 11, 2008, the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department informed MBTA Transit Police that Harper and Bremner were close associates and that Harper had been arrested for leaving the “ETHER” tag in Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Both Harper and Bremner have been convicted of graffiti-related offenses in New York.

Assistant District Attorney Brendan Murphy of Conley’s Special Prosecutions Unit handled the case. Murphy was assigned both Bremner’s and Harper’s cases as a district court prosecutor and secured Bremner’s plea last year; he retained Harper’s case even after his promotion to a Superior Court trial team.

Harper was represented by attorney John Brien.