What appears to be a hate-fueled spray paint spree in Big Pine led to one arrest.

Big Pine residents awoke Monday morning to find that someone had spray painted swastikas on fences, signs, and even a slide at the park. Nazi swastikas and the SS insignia, the sign of Adolph Hitlers personal troops, appeared in many locations in town.

The swastikas could be found on fences and signs along Bartell. One Large swastika was painted on a wall at Big Pine High School. At Mendenhall Park the vandal painted a swastika on the slide of the childrens’ playground and drew another large swastika in the sand under the play area.

It was at the Park that Inyo Sheriff Deputies report that a witness saw a suspect passed out, possibly intoxicated. The suspect was gone when Deputies arrived, but Officers report that the witness saw the suspect go home.

Deputies say that when they went to the residence indicated by the witness, they found 20 year old Big Pine resident Ryan Jones. Officers allege that Jones had similar spray painted symbols on his own t-shirt. He was arrested for alleged felony vandalism.

In the meantime, residents now have to clean or sand the Nazi messages off their property. The large swastikas at the Big Pine High School were cleaned off by 10:30 in the morning Monday, just hours after being found.

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