An accused Detroit-area graffiti artist has beat the charges against him.
A judge on Thursday dismissed six felony counts of malicious destruction of property against Bryan Herrin, who Wayne County prosecutors alleged was responsible for spraying faces of the character from “Beavis and Butt-Head” throughout Detroit. The charge is punishable by up to four years in prison.
Judge Ronald Giles, of 36th District Court, cited insufficient evidence at the preliminary exam for the case to proceed.
The Beavis graffiti appeared throughout the city for years – on construction materials, dumpsters, and freeway underpasses. Herrin was arrested in early June, two months after an unnamed man Metro Times reported to be behind the drawings told the alternative weekly that he sprayed about 20 faces per night, having been inspired by watching the Mike Judge show as a child and relating to the characters’ inability to attract women.
“I mean, really, like, the whole series was just them trying to score, and that never happening,” the man who Metro Times reported writes under the moniker BVIS said. “And it’s like, I can relate to that real-life frustration.”
Court records show Herrin is in his late thirties. He was arrested following a search on his home, the Detroit Police Department previously told the Free Press. A spokesman declined to say whether his capture stemmed from the interview with Metro Times.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office blamed the dismissal on the judge’s determination that certain documents and witness testimony were inadmissible. A spokeswoman said the office is deciding whether to appeal the court’s ruling.
Herrin’s attorney, David Rudoi, applauded the decision.
“We respect the mayor and the people of the city of Detroit considering this issue a high priority, however, Mr. Herrin was innocent of the crimes alleged against him,” Rudoi said.
Graffiti removal has been a priority for the city of Detroit since Mayor Mike Duggan took office, when he established a task force to identify and prosecute artists and began spending millions to paint over their pieces. His crackdown dates back to the early 2000s, when, as county prosecutor, he jailed two out-of-town artists for 60 days for spraying an abandoned Detroit building and threatened to put a tagger painting turtles in prison, Deadline Detroit has reported.
“These guys go around, much like a dog marking his territory and urinating on fire hydrants,” he said at a press conference on the effort, Deadline Detroit reported.
The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Violet Ikonomova is an investigative reporter at the Free Press focused on government and police accountability in Detroit. Contact her at vikonomova@freepress.com
