A 65-year-old Casper man faces charges in Casper Circuit Court after police say he struck a fellow motel resident with a hammer and raised a knife against him, chased others with the weapons, and threw a pumpkin through a window.
Paul Joseph Clark faces two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of property destruction and defacement, and one count of interference with a police officer stemming from his alleged actions on Sept. 30 at the Yellowstone Motel.
A court spokesperson said Clark refused to attend his initial appearance Friday. He faces a preliminary examination Thursday. Bond was set at $150,000 cash or surety.
Court records show Casper Police responded to the Yellowstone Motel in the 1600 block of Yellowstone Highway at 12:35 p.m. Sept. 30 for a report of a male yelling, chasing people with a hammer. He then chased people both a hammer and knife while destroying property with the hammer.
A K9 officer found Clark still armed with a hammer in his left hand and two knives in his right on Burlington Avenue and ordered him to drop them. A police affidavit states he dropped the knives but threw the hammer at the officer’s patrol vehicle and missed.
Clark then walked over to the knives and put his foot on them and told the officer, “You’ll have to kill me.”
“He mentioned officers killing him because he didn’t care anymore and was fed up living next to druggies,” the affidavit states. “Clark did move away from the knives but continued talking about his troubles and why he was so upset.
The affidavit states Clark refused to comply with officers’ orders to walk over to the arrest team and an officer eventually used a bean-bag shotgun round to bring about his compliance and arrest. Clark refused any medical treatment, the affidavit states.
One resident at the Yellowstone Motel told police Clark left his apartment and was yelling something he could not understand. Then Clark picked up a folding chair and threw it at the resident, the affidavit states.
Clark then picked up a pumpkin owned by the same resident and threw it through his apartment window as he continued to yell. Clark then re-entered his own apartment.
'They’ll Have To Kill Me'
The affidavit states that when the owner of the motel arrived, Clark came out of his room with a knife and hammer. The owner and the resident got into the owner's truck and locked the doors as Clark hit the driver’s side, front, and back windows with the hammer telling them, “They’ll have to kill me.”
The affidavit states Clark then turned on another man who lived at the motel with the knife and hammer. The man put up his hands enough and ducked away from a hammer blow that it glanced off the left side of his head.
The resident told police Clark had the hammer in his left hand and knife in his right hand.
The man also told police Clark pushed him to the ground and he fell on his back. Clark raised the knife above his head. He said he believed Clark was going to kill him.
“(The resident) stated that Clark then swung the hammer at his head,” the affidavit states. “(The resident) attempted to avoid the strike by rolling/moving while still on the ground.”
The second resident told officers Clark’s hammer struck his head again in a glancing blow.
The affidavit states officers could see a “goose egg” on the resident’s head.
The second resident told police Clark then walked off and the motel owner drove his truck to where he was laying and brought him into the truck as the owner of the motel was on the phone with a dispatcher.
Both aggravated assault and battery charges carry a potential 10 years in prison and up to $10,000 fine. The two property destruction and defacement charges carry penaties of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine.
The interference with a police officer charge is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
