DETROIT, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Police acting on a tip arrested two Michigan men for vandalizing a statue of former heavyweight champion Joe Louis in downtown Detroit with white paint.
The sculpture of the legendary African-American boxer was covered with gallons of white paint.
The suspects, age 45 and 27, both from Ypsilanti, did not admit guilt when they were arrested in Romulus, Mich., after officers found paint and materials inside the pickup truck in which they were riding.
"There's very little doubt that they were involved from the look of the vehicle," police Sgt. Duane Smith told the Detroit Free Press. "There was paint splatter everywhere."
Firefighters used high-pressure hoses to remove most of the paint on the sculpture.
The vandals apparently were spotted by an independent cab driver who followed them to a freeway. They face charges of malicious destruction.
The 24-foot-tall sculpture of the arm and fist of the "Brown Bomber" was painted during Monday's pre-dawn hours. Louis was world heavyweight champion from 1936-42 and 1946-49.
