Longtime Keys vandal gets jail time   

A 31-year-old Key West graffiti vandal with a penchant for boasting about his crimes on social media will spend a month in jail, pay restitution and serve hundreds of hours of community service.

Brandon Joseph Mims was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office in February 2020 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.

He was sentenced recently to 30 days in Monroe County jail, 36 months probation, 200 hours of community service and more than $2,500 in fines, court costs and restitution.

“I was happy to hear that this defendant will be forced to pay restitution and spend time behind bars for his crimes,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “Defacing someone else’s property is a crime. This is a vandal, not an artist. I firmly believe that cleaner, safer streets result in cleaner, safer communities. This agency is committed to keeping our neighborhoods clean for that reason.”

Mims often boasted about his crimes on social media and long-targeted private, Naval Air Station Key West, state, county and City of Key West property. 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.

Detectives Ken Fricke and Wendy Negron obtained 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, a stack of “Cyne” stickers and dozens of spray paint cans were found in his vehicle. There was also evidence that heavy construction equipment at the scene had recently been vandalized with spray paint.

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