TORRINGTON — A city man was arrested after being caught in the act of scratching an SUV with a bolt he found on the street, police said.
Joseph McCarthy, 33, of 226 Litchfield St., was arrested Jan. 8 and charged with third-degree criminal mischief, police said.
According to a probable cause report, an officer was walking on South Main Street shortly before 11 p.m. when he saw McCarthy pacing back and forth in a parking lot, looking at a black SUV.
“I remained in the area where McCarthy could not see me. I observed McCarthy pick an object that looked like a large bolt off the ground, crouch down and run over to the SUV,” said the officer in the report. “Before I could intervene I saw McCarthy begin to carve scratches into the driver side of the SUV.”
The officer yelled for McCarthy to stop. McCarthy responded by asking who exactly the officer was, with a profanity interspersed, according to the report.
“I responded by identifying myself as a Torrington Police Officer,” said the officer.
McCarthy was handcuffed and arrested, according to the report. During this process, he dropped an object from his right hand, which the officer identified as an approximately 6-inch bolt.
The owner of the vehicle pressed charges against McCarthy, who “left several long scratches in the driver side paint of the SUV,” according to the report.
McCarthy was later released on $1,000 non-surety bail and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington on Jan. 22.
Reach Ben Lambert at william.lambert@hearstmediact.com.