Teen Arrested in the Spray-Painting of the Davis Art Center's Historic Columns

The news reached the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in the middle of its own annual report. The center's CEO, Devon Parker, was delivering that report to the Fort Myers City Council on Monday when word arrived that police had made an arrest in the spray-painting of the art center's exterior columns. 'We have some very great news,' Parker said. 'I believe we have apprehended somebody who's responsible.'

The Fort Myers Police Department announced the arrest of Rolando Velasquez-Castro, 19, of Fort Myers, three days after the columns of the nonprofit art center at 2301 First Street were spray-painted on October 30. Detectives reviewed surveillance footage that allowed authorities to identify Velasquez-Castro as the suspect, according to the police department, and officers said they subsequently obtained a confession. He has been charged with criminal mischief involving historic property, which is a felony. His bond has been set at $2,500, and he is to appear in court on December 7. The charge is an allegation.

The repair is the harder part. According to the art center, the vandalized exterior columns are made of historic limestone that 'cannot simply be painted over or cleaned with conventional methods' and will require specialized care to remove the paint without damaging the stone. The city-owned building was constructed as a U.S. Post Office and dedicated in December 1933; it later operated as a federal courthouse, sat vacant after the courthouse moved in 1998, and reopened in 2008 as the art center under a 99-year lease held by Florida Arts Inc. Former mayor Randy Henderson, now a center board member, praised the police at Monday's meeting and pledged the center would carry on: 'We won't be slowed down. We thank FMPD for jumping in and helping solve that. We'll be alright.'