A man in Kingsland, Arkansas, the birthplace of the country music legend Johnny Cash, has been arrested for shooting a tribute to the late musician.
The town has a silhouette of Cash painted on a huge water tower, which has been shot in the crotch area. A steady stream of water is now flowing from the tower and gives the impression that Cash is peeing.
According to TMZ, Timothy Sled has been arrested following a police investigation. He has received two felony charges – one for impairing the operation of a vital public utility, and another for criminal mischief.
A segment on local channel Fox 16 News first highlighted the issue. It said that due to the tower’s huge capacity of 50,000 gallons, the artwork has been ‘peeing’ for over a week. Journalist Caitrin Assaf said it has led to discoloured household water for the town’s 347 residents, and low water pressure.
The damage reportedly costs the town roughly $200 every day and mayor Luke Neal estimates the repair will require another $5,000. A second person may also be arrested over the vandalism.
Cash was born in Kingsland in 1933 to poor cotton farmers. His family left when he was three years old and settled in nearby Dyess. He returned to his birthplace in 1994, when a local post office was named in his honour.
In other Johnny Cash news, Post Malone recently teamed up with rising bluegrass star Billy Strings for a live cover of a Cash classic.
During Strings’ show at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California invited Malone to grab a guitar and join him on stage for a cover of Cash’s 1968 version of ‘Cocaine Blues’. Cash famously performed the song at his Folsom Prison concert.