PAINT TWP., Pa. (EYT) — A Knox man is facing criminal charges after he reportedly caused property damage at the Clarion County Jail on two separate occasions.
Court documents indicate CNET filed the following charges against 29-year-old William Ellsworth May Jr.:
– Institutional Vandalism, Misdemeanor 2 (two counts)
– Disorderly Conduct Hazardous/Physical Offense, Misdemeanor 3
– Criminal Mischief — Damage Property, Summary (two counts)
According to a criminal complaint, on March 24, Deputy Warden Sprankle, of the Clarion County Jail, informed Chief Detective William Peck, of CNET, that William Ellsworth May Jr., an inmate, had damaged jail property, namely a piece of glass at the bottom of a cell.
It was reported that around 6:20 p.m. on March 21, inmates in E Block were being disruptive by kicking and screaming, and several corrections officers entered the block and issued warnings to the inmates to stop the behavior. The guards then left the block and stood outside the block door, where they overheard May inciting the other inmates to continue the behavior, according to the complaint.
May was then removed from E Block and placed in a cell in the intake area.
According to the complaint, around 7:06 p.m., May began to kick the bottom glass window of the cell, and the glass, which the complaint notes is protective glass and over a half-inch or more thick, spidered/shattered. May was then restrained in handcuffs and shackles, and his shoes were removed.
Around 10:00 p.m., he asked to have his shoes back, and he was denied. He then kicked the glass again in front of a corrections officer and refused with direct orders to stop his behavior. He was then sprayed with OC in an attempt to make him comply, the complaint indicates.
An estimate from a glass company for replacement of the damaged glass was $135.00, not including labor.
According to a second complaint, Chief Detective Peck also spoke to corrections officers about another incident in which May allegedly damaged a TV and cable box at the jail on March 7.
Chief Detective Peck was provided a correction officer’s report on the incident.
According to the complaint, May was on lockdown in his cell earlier in the day of the incident and sustained an injury to his finger while punching the door of his cell. Then, later in the day, May was let out of his cell for one hour, and he pushed the call button in the block to talk to a guard. May then allegedly made the statement “you should have gave me stitches,” before climbing up on a table in the cell block, where he grabbed the TV and cable box and threw them to the floor, causing damage to both items.
May was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Timothy P. Schill on Wednesday, April 8, on both incidents.
His bail was set at $25,000.00 for each incident.
Court documents indicate May is scheduled for a criminal conference in the district attorney’s office on April 22 on charges related to the theft of an ATV from a residence in Ashland Township.
