A jury moved quickly and acquitted a 40-year-old man who had been charged with 13 counts of vandalism for writing anti-bank slogans on sidewalks with chalk bringing to an end a case that the mayor of San Diego called "stupid," according to the Associated Press.

Jeff Olson decided to show his frustration with the banking industry by scrawling anti-bank messages outside of three different Bank of America branches in San Diego. Olson used water-soluble chalk to write slogans such as "Shame on B of A," "No thanks, big banks," and a picture of an octopus grabbing money with its many appendages, according to the Associated Press.

By using the same kind of chalk that children often scribble hopscotch courts with Olson never imagined that he would be arrested for his actions.

"It's shocking, it's really shocking," Olson told reporters. "I never thought in a million years that using washable sidewalk chalk on a city sidewalk could be considered vandalism. That was unfathomable to me."

Deputy City Attorney Paige Hazard made the case to the jury that Olson should have tried to get his message out in a way that didn't break the rules by making "a real nuisance of himself." Hazard also said the only reason Olson got caught was that he kept going back to rewrite the messages, according to ABC News.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner was not pleased that the case was being tried by the city's attorney's office, according to the Associated Press.

"It's washable chalk, it's political slogans," Filner said. "We're not even responding to the public's complain...I think it's a stupid case. It's costing us money."

The San Diego City Attorney's Office released a statement regarding the case.

"This case was referred to our office SDPD and was issued by prosecutors in the Neighborhood Protection Unit. That unit is charged with, among other things, working closely with SDPD's Graffiti Strike Force," the statement reads. "Mr. Olson was offered reduction to an infraction after completing volunteer work service cleaning up graffiti. His refusal of that offer resulted in the trial and his successful defense."

At the end of the case Olson told the Associated Press that the was pleased with how he got his message out but that in the future he won't be chalking up sidewalks.

"I couldn't have done better if I rented an airplane with a banner and put billboards up all over town," Olson said. "I'm going to think of a more creative way to get my message across."