IBERIA PARISH (NEW IBERIA) — What began as a festive Saturday at New Iberia's Queen City Christmas Parade quickly turned sour for several local families when their vehicles were vandalized in the parking lot.
Sheena Mayes, a single mother, said she and her son were walking back to her car after the parade when she noticed something unusual.
“I noticed something red on my hood,” Mayes said. “As we got closer, I saw that it was completely covered in spray paint.”
Mayes was one of four vehicle owners who found profanity, including racial slurs, sprayed on their cars in the Bouligny Plaza parking lot. Due to the offensive nature of the vandalism, some of the writing has been blurred in photographs.
Another parade attendee witnessed the scene and described seeing a group of young people running from the area shortly after the parade ended.
“I thought maybe there was a fight,” the woman said. “But when we got back to our cars, we saw people talking about the vandalism. It was heartbreaking. Some of the cars had racial slurs spray-painted on them.”
For Mayes, the emotional impact was particularly tough.
“My five-year-old son got super upset and started crying,” Mayes said. “He was like, ‘Oh my God, Mom, what is that? Someone messed up our car!’ It was heartbreaking for me to see him react like that.”
But, help came unexpectedly. Jonathon DeRise, a retired deputy from the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office, runs a car detailing business from his home in New Iberia, offered his services to those affected.
“I just posted on Facebook, ‘Hey, if your car got vandalized, contact me. I’ll take the paint off for free,’” Jon said.
Jon’s generosity quickly gained attention, with hundreds of people sharing their gratitude on social media. Mayes was one of the first to reach out.
“For him to just say that he’ll fix it and cover the cost, it helped a lot,” she said, adding that Jon also fixed her squeaky side door and cleaned the interior of her car.
Jon said his goal was not recognition but rather to spread positivity.
“All of it, 100% for free. I’m not looking for a handout or recognition,” he said. “I just want to do something positive and focus on doing the right thing in the community.”
As of now, Jon has already finished cleaning Sheena's car and has two more lined up for restoration.
New Iberia Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Iberia Police Department at (337) 369-2306.
