THIRST gets quenched: Jared Hernandez arrested in St. Pete for vandalism.
Soon after Jared Hernandez, the artist formerly known as THIRST stopped by the podcast a slew of mural defacements started happening around town. I got a few messages asking if I thought it was Jared who was doing them. I dunno, I still don’t…but if I had to place a bet I’d say, “yup”.
No arrests were made in the defacement's in spite of a lot of local media coverage and comments from numerous residents naming Jared as the perpetrator on the Facebook posts. Things seemed to cool down after Derek Donnelly’s building and van we’re vandalized. Things seemed to get back to normal. Murals were getting repaired and new ones were on the way to competition. It appeared to be over. Then I saw a cryptic Instagram story on Jared’s account which is now lost in the ether but hinted at an arrest. A photo of a painting of Rasta that lived outside the 1 of 1 Customs shop with a freshly painted mustache and glasses was posted on Jared’s Instagram page with the caption:
“Biggest imposter award goes to Gary Taylor I Faithfully dedicated my time and efforts in helping this man make his own business prosperous. But you can& #39;t expect someone to remain faithful to you if you consistently undercut them on jobs maliciously. But when I express myself in an artistic way, people can& #39;t even take it with a smile and keep it moving. There& #39;s only grown babies who can& #39;t handle Street ethics. Which results in two Undercovers, seven officers, and a SWAT officer with a shepherd. The most expensive doodle I know 2,000”
Jared was caught in the act early morning on Feb. 22nd by a local resident who followed him after allegedly spray painting the ‘stache and glasses the Rasta sign. Police arrested Jared soon after and since he had a previous conviction for Criminal Mischief back in 2015 the new charge was been upgraded to a felony. According to Bay News 9, Jared is now under investigation for the mural defacement's.
Photo from Creative Pinellas
So, did Jared do it? I dunno, but if I had to place a bet, I’d say, “yup”. I guess we’ll all find out soon enough. I reached out to both Jared and Rasta but haven’t yet received a response from either. If they do, I’ll be sure to update this post. Check out the podcast with Jared here: