Johnny Cash water tower mural was shot in crude spot. Suspect with great aim convicted

Mitchell Willetts
·1 min read

An Arkansas man has been found guilty of shooting a mural of Johnny Cash on a small town’s water tower, causing a crude-looking leak that caught national attention, news outlets reported.

In May 2022, the town of Kingsland — Johnny Cash’s birthplace — awoke to find their water tower, painted with a mural of Cash, had sprung a leak, McClatchy News previously reported.

Betty Graham, Kingsland’s water office manager, assumed it was just routine overflow when she arrived at the office before dawn on May 11. But as the sun rose, revealing the tower and the relentless flow of water from the mural’s crotch, it became clear that a vandal had struck.

Specifically, someone with a gun had taken aim at the Man in Black’s most private area and fired a shot. For days, it appeared Cash was relieving himself on his hometown.

Kingsland had recently completed a $300,000 renovation on the tower.

Word spread as the town sought the sharpshooting suspect, earning widespread attention, condemnation and plenty of jokes.

However, the alleged shooter was recently brought before a jury and found guilty of causing the leak seen around the world, TV station KARK reported on March 29.

The man, a Kingsland resident, was convicted on charges of first-degree criminal mischief and interrupting operation of a vital public facility, the station reported.

He is accused of firing a scoped .308 rifle and hitting the water tower from a distance of 150 yards, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

After hearing testimony, the jury convicted Sled on both counts after just seven minutes of deliberation, the newspaper reported.

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