'Hollyweed' Prankster Gives Himself Up

The alleged Hollyweed prankster has been apprehended. Zachary Cole Fernandez, 30, turned himself in to Los Angeles Police Department detectives Monday on suspicion of trespassing in the wee hours of New Year's Day in order to alter the iconic Hollywood sign to read "Hollyweed," reports the Los Angeles Times, which refers to Fernandez as an artist from Pomona. He was booked on a misdemeanor trespassing offense and released on bail. Fernandez allegedly scaled the ladders of the sign and hung tarps to make the Os look like Es; the sign was not damaged. Fernandez told Vice days after the incident that he and his "creative partner/former wife" were behind the prank.

They said the prank was an attempt to reframe the 2016 election in positive terms; it was during that election that California legalized recreational marijuana use. "Sometimes in order to create that conversation, you have to be OK with the consequences," Fernandez told Vice. "I'm very proactive about marijuana." The prank led Hollywood to tighten up security around the sign. (More Hollywood stories.)