Detroit loses appeal over graffiti blamed on Shepard Fairey

DETROIT – The city of Detroit has failed to persuade the Michigan appeals court to reinstate vandalism charges against graffiti artist Shepard Fairey.

The appeals court says the city failed to show that Fairey was personally responsible for tagging buildings with posters of his work. The court on Tuesday affirmed a decision to dismiss charges of malicious destruction of property.

Fairey was in Detroit in 2015 to complete a commissioned project. He was accused of putting posters on various buildings, but police had no witnesses and investigators acknowledged that the art could have been on walls before Fairey’s visit.

The appeals court says “several holes in the prosecution’s evidentiary canvas doom its case.”