Vallejo Memorial Mural Painted Over by Crew for 'Transformers' Movie

A Hollywood producer apologized profusely Monday after a film crew shooting in Vallejo painted over a beloved mural earlier this week.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura, one of the producers behind Transformers Universe: Bumblebee told the Vallejo Times-Herald that a miscommunication led to a crew painting over the Vallejo Rising mural, which memorialized several local residents.

“I’m sorry about this,” di Bonaventura told the Times-Herald, adding that Paramount Pictures, the company making the film, would do what it could to replace the mural. “Our guys didn’t realize the importance of the mural.”

Painted in 2012 by local teacher Alvaro Garcia, the mural included depictions of locals tragically killed, such as 12-year-old Joey Tafoya who died after being hit by a garbage truck; and Dewey Tucker, the 24-year-old bassist for Lauryn Hill, Bobby Brown and The Coup, who was murdered while driving on I-80 by a gang member who thought Tucker was a rival.

Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan spoke with representatives from Paramount Monday afternoon and said they were working to rectify the situation.

“Paramount has stepped up and they acknowledge that they should have done research, that they should have reached out to the artist and those who were depicted in the mural,” Sampayan told CBS Local. “They were absolutely mortified that they did this.”

Champaygne Tafoya, Joey’s mother, said that she broke down over the loss of the mural, which she hoped “would be there forever.”

But Mark Reed, the owner of the building that the mural was painted on, said that he had planned to remove the mural anyway because the wall needed to be repaired.

Still, Paramount Pictures reached out to Tafoya and Garcia on Tuesday to discuss painting a new mural.

“I’m excited on what we are going to see with the new mural,” Tafoya told the Vallejo Times-Herald.