Graffiti Vandal Charged With Criminal Mischief In South Brunswick

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A South Brunswick man responsible for several incidents of graffiti vandalism in the township has been charged with criminal mischief, police said Tuesday.

Oliver Heck, 30, known as the “Mad Cat Vandal” worked at a nearby gas station and has been spray painting on building and street signs for the past three months, police said.

Heck mostly spray-painted images of cat faces. His graffiti damaged the old Stop and Shop grocery store and street signs along Route 522, police said. In total, the criminal mischief caused $2,300 in damages.

Dt. Bryan Sites of the South Brunswick Police Department began investigating in late March. He recovered high-quality surveillance video from the Stop & Shop which showed the suspect spray painting the business, police said.

Sites reviewed his other cases and realized the suspect was Heck, according to authorities. Sites arrested Heck at the nearby gas station and charged him with criminal mischief.

According to the initial investigation, Heck would get off his gas station job and walk over to the grocery store strip mall to spray paint things because he was bored.

Heck chose to spray paint cats because he liked them. Heck has been charged with 4th-degree criminal mischief and has a future court date.

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