Property damage trial set for grafitti artist

DETROIT (AP) — Graffiti artist Shepard Fairey is scheduled to stand trial next year on charges of illegally tagging buildings while in Detroit to complete a commissioned project.

Court records say a Jan. 26 trial date was set last Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court.

The 45-year-old Fairey is charged with malicious destruction of property. The charges include damage to buildings and a railroad bridge.

The artist was in Detroit in May to complete a 184-foot-tall mural on a downtown building. The work was financed by businessman Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate Services, which owns the building.

An attorney for the city has said three of nine damaged properties are city-owned. The damage to all is estimated at about $30,000.

Fairey’s lawyer has said prosecutors offered no proof the tagging was done by Fairey.