‘Hollyweed’ artist arrested
Zachary Fernandez, 30, surrenders to the LAPD in New Year’s Day trespassing case, a misdemeanor offense.
Zachary Fernandez surrenders to the LAPD in New Year’s Day trespassing case.
A Pomona artist was arrested Monday on suspicion of trespassing in connection with altering the Hollywood sign to read “Hollyweed” on New Year’s Day, police said.
Accompanied by an attorney, Zachary Cole Fernandez, 30, surrendered to Los Angeles Police Department detectives in Hollywood, Capt. Cory Palka said. He was booked on the misdemeanor offense and released on $1,000 bail.
Fernandez is scheduled to appear Feb. 15 in Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown L.A., said Palka, who works in the Hollywood Division.
The Hollywood sign was not damaged in Fernandez’s prank.
Police said surveillance footage showed a man dressed in black, tactical-style gear scaling the sign’s ladders and hanging tarps over the O’s to change them to E’s at 3 a.m. Jan. 1. One tarp was decorated with a peace sign, and another with a heart.
“The Hollywood sign has seen many alteration attempts over the years for people seeking notoriety or commercial gain,” Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu said in a statement. “Pranks of this nature deplete the resources of our valuable public safety personnel, in both responding to the prank and in responding to the increased crowds and copycat attempts that these incidents generate.”
Last week, an LAPD spokeswoman had said investigators were “talking to a person” in connection with New Year’s Day prank.
Officer Liliana Preciado said detectives would not arrest the suspect on suspicion of trespassing, but would instead present their findings to prosecutors.
Days after the sign alteration, Fernandez, who calls himself “Jesus Hands,” told Vice that he and his “creative partner/former wife, Sarah Fern,” were responsible for the prank.
Fern and Fernandez said they were aware they could face consequences for revealing their identities. But Fern told Vice, “We’re OK with that.”