Longtime Keys vandal arrested

A 29-year-old Key West graffiti vandal with a penchant for boasting about his crimes on social media and who targeted Naval Air Station Key West, state, county and City of Key West property was arrested Tuesday by Sheriff’s Office Detectives.

Brandon Joseph Mims was charged with 18 counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief, two felony counts of criminal mischief (the felony difference due to the damage being more than $1,000), six counts of burglary and one misdemeanor marijuana charge.

Mims often used spray paint to leave the name “Cyne” all over the Lower Keys and Key West for the last several years. Mims also used grease pencils to leave his mark. He also placed hundreds of “Cyne” stickers on public and private property.

Sheriff Rick Ramsay has been in contact with State Attorney Dennis Ward to express his desire that justice and restitution is made in this case. The cost of cleaning up after Mims, taken in collective over the years, has likely cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, Ramsay said.

“I had an immediate interest in the arrest and prosecution of whomever was behind these cases of blatant vandalism,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “What this suspect did is not art. It is vandalism, plain and simple. Defacing someone else’s property is a crime. As I’ve said many times, I firmly believe that cleaner, safer streets result in cleaner, safer communities. This agency is committed to keeping our neighborhoods clean for that reason. To those who condone this suspects’ actions, I say: vandalism will never be tolerated in the Florida Keys as long as I am Sheriff.”

Lower Keys Detectives Ken Fricke and Wendy Negron issued a search warrant for Mims’ social media networks and reviewed more than 42,000 pages posted by Mims. Mims openly admitted to the vandalism in many cases. In one Instagram post, Mims posted a map of how he illegally entered Naval Air Station Key West property and vandalized one of their buildings located near Boca Chica Road.

The case began in November 2019 when Deputies responded to the old quarry on No Name Key regarding a trespassing matter. A small amount of marijuana was found on Mims, but dozens of spray paint cans were found in his vehicle. Also found was a stack of “Cyne” stickers that have been posted on property all over Key West. The search warrant later showed that Mims designed and ordered several hundred dollars’ worth of the same sticker.

One Instagram post by Mims included photos he took of that interaction with Deputies in November 2019 on No Name Key. Mims states in the post that he was “almost” caught.

As the investigation continued, Navy officials as well as Florida Department of Transportation officials told Detectives Fricke and Negron that they wished to press charges against Mims.

Warrants with a collective $62,000 bail were issued for Mims’ arrest. Mims turned himself in on Tuesday.

Mims has no adult criminal history in Monroe County. Mims, a former U.S. Army soldier, was found not guilty of murder in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 2013 in the 2011 shotgun shooting death of Michael Ray Staggs.

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