A man has been arrested for shooting a hole in Johnny Cash’s water tower at his mural, making it look like that Cash was urinating on the people below.
This incident took place in Cash’s hometown of Kingsland, Arkansas.
In a story which was first broke by Fox News, 38 year old Timothy Sled fired a shot at Cash’s crotch. This damaged the tower, causing a leak which was losing 30,000 gallons daily.
Mr Sled was arrested and charged with criminal mischief. He was also charged with impeding the operation of an important public facility. If found guilty of both offences, he could receive a jail term of 16 years.
The Cleaveland County Sheriff has also added that a second arrest could be made.
“might seem smaller in bigger places” – Mayor reacts to Johnny Cash Mural Shooting
While revealing that repairs have already began, Kingsland mayor Luke Neal has also issued a warning to local residents.
He has warned that as local supplies are using well water as the tower is drained, the water may be discoloured while repairs are taking place.
“It might seem small in bigger places”, he said. “but for here it’s a pretty large number”.
Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland in 1932 and lived there until he was three years old.
He left with his family, who were selected to be part of a farming community in Dyess in Arkasnsas. Cash would still visit the area regularly throughout his life, often accompanied by a young Elvis Pressley.
This mural was built in Kingsland in 1976 as a Bicentennial project. There is also some Cash memorabilia in the local post office.
Back in 2020, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra released a collection of new arrangements of 12 live Johnny Cash performances.
“I consider we now have captured the emotion, sensitivity and real honesty of Johnny Cash by his storytelling and his touching and charming vocal performances”, producer Don Reedman said at the time. More on this report from Nova here.
