UF student Sergio A. Castro, 22, was arrested early Tuesday morning for spray painting the words "RIP MUCH" in gold on the side of The Top restaurant in downtown Gainesville.
Castro also reportedly plastered a mural of recently deceased Gainesville resident Barry Bernard, 25, whose body was found Monday near the Matanzas Inlet in St. Johns County.
Bernard was swimming with friends at Summer Haven Beach on Sunday afternoon when he lost his boogie board and was overtaken by the rough waves.
Castro, who was observed wearing a black mask to conceal his identity, admitted to spray painting the building, along with another nearby building, according to a Gainesville Police Department report.
A similar mural was plastered on one of the front windows of American Apparel at 15 SW 1st Ave. The word "SOUP" was spray-painted in lime green on a bench in front of the mural. It's not clear if Castro was responsible for the markings.
Castro was arrested at 5:01 a.m. and booked into the Alachua County Jail. He was charged on one count of third degree felony criminal mischief, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Scott Shillington, co-owner of The Top, at 30 North Main Street, said he would like to see the charge against Castro dropped.
He went to the GPD headquarters to see if he could help resolve the situation, but was unable to get any information about the case.
"At this point we're just trying to figure out how to get him out," Shillington said Tuesday evening.
Castro was released later that night.
Shillington said he liked the mural and the graffiti and would not take them down.
"We're gonna leave it up as a memorial," he said. "It's actually a really beautiful screen print of the guy (Bernard)."
He said although he didn't know Bernard personally, he recognized him as someone who regularly patronized The Top.
"He seemed like he was a really sweet guy and it's just a tragic situation," he said.
