UF art major Sergio A. Castro, 22, is facing a felony charge of criminal mischief after being arrested early Tuesday morning trying to spray-paint a memorial for his friend on the side of The Top restaurant in downtown Gainesville.
A Gainesville Police Department officer noticed Castro spray-painting the words "RIP MUCH" in gold on the side of the building alongside a paper mural of his friend, Barry Bernard, the 25-year-old Gainesville man 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, wearing a black mask to hide his identity, stopped painting and walked away when he noticed the officer, according to a GPD incident report.
After the officer caught up with him, Castro said he was trying to paint the words "RIP MUCH LOVE," the report stated.
Castro also admitted to pasting a mural of his friend on one of the front windows of American Apparel, 15 SW 1st Ave., where Bernard worked for more than two years.
Castro was arrested on one count of third degree felony criminal mischief, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. In addition, because the alleged crime involved graffiti, it is possible Castro could face an additional fine of $250, if it is his first conviction. He could also be required to perform at least 40 hours of community service.
A co-owner of The Top and a manager of American Apparel both said they did not wish to press charges against Castro.
Scott Shillington, co-owner of The Top, 30 N. Main St., said Tuesday evening that 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.
Castro was released later that night without bail on the condition that he'll have no contact with The Top and that he won't possess spray paint.
He was also given a curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Shillington said he liked Castro's tribute to Bernard and would not remove it.
"We're gonna leave it up as a memorial," he said. "It's actually a really beautiful screen print of the guy."
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.
Aurora Brink, manager of American Apparel, said on Wednesday that Castro came by that day to remove the mural of Bernard and apologize.
Brink said she wished she could have kept it up, or put up something of her own, but it goes against company policy.
She said there are other ways to memorialize Bernard, adding that everyone who works at the store was good friends with him.
"We were lucky to have known Barry for so long," she said.
Spencer Mann, spokesman for the State Attorney's office, said if representatives of both businesses want the charge dropped, the office would take that into consideration when deciding how-or if-to charge Castro.
"We would have to look at the case in total," he said.
Castro, reached by phone on Wednesday, said the legal trouble he's in scares him, and said he doesn't want his actions to deflect any of the focus from Bernard's death.
"I don't like all the attention I'm getting for it," he said. "It's not about me; it's about Barry and his family."
Castro noted that the reason the arresting officer gave for why his charge was bumped from a misdemeanor to a felony was because he was wearing a mask.
He declined to comment about other specifics of his case. "I'm just not at liberty to talk about everything," he said.
Castro said Sharab Lounge, where he bartends, will hold a silent auction Thursday night to help pay for Bernard's funeral and to pay for his parents to fly from Haiti to Gainesville.
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