Three men were arrested on felony vandalism charges in Goleta on Saturday after a man doing graffiti-abatement work spotted them and alerted Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies.

Joseph Rocco Peransi, 31, of Santa Barbara, and Jansen Michael Lee, 31, and Gregory Winfield Smith, 32, both of Lompoc, were taken into custody after they were observed using spray paint to create graffiti in a drainage culvert at Cathedral Oaks and Glen Annie roads, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.

Deputies were dispatched at about 1:25 p.m. Saturday after a citizen doing community service graffiti abatement reported seeing one of the men spraying graffiti on the wall of a tunnel.

“Sheriff's deputies responded and located three males vandalizing the tunnel walls with large graffiti murals,” Hoover said. “Two of the suspects attempted to flee when they saw deputies but all three were detained.”

She said the men were in possession of more than 60 cans of spray paint, five cans of paint with rollers to create backdrops for their graffiti, and a camera connected to a tripod to photograph their handiwork.

All three were booked into County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy, vandalism of $400 or more, possession with the intent to commit vandalism or graffiti, and dumping waste matter in a creek, Hoover said.

Lee also was booked on an outstanding felony warrant for felony graffiti and vandalism.

Peransi was being held on $45,000, with a bail enhancement for commission of a felony after release on bail or own recognizance; Lee was being held on $105,000 bail; and Smith posted $20,000 bail and was released, Hoover said.

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