Attorney estimates damage in graffiti artist case at $30,000

DETROIT (AP) — Damage to illegally tagged buildings in Detroit that led to charges against graffiti artist Shepard Fairey is estimated at around $30,000.

The figure was presented last week by a Detroit city attorney during a pretrial conference for Fairey.

Three of the nine properties listed in court are city-owned.

Fairey is charged with malicious destruction of property. He did not attend the hearing. His next court date is this week.

Fairey was in Detroit in May to complete a mural on a downtown building.

He got in a legal dispute with The Associated Press after using an AP photo in his famous Barack Obama “HOPE” poster. He agreed in 2011 to pay the AP $1.6 million.