Amesbury man charged with throwing things at neighbor's house
May 26—AMESBURY — A High Street man faces potential jail time after his arrest Monday night for allegedly throwing objects at windows belonging to his next-door neighbor and then trying to run from police.
Michael D. Piercy, 56, was charged with disorderly conduct (subsequent offense) and arraigned the next morning in Newburyport District Court.
In 2016, Piercy pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after he crashed a golf cart at the Evergreen Golf Course in Newburyport while intoxicated and was sentenced to probation.
During his appearance Tuesday in District Court, Piercy told Judge Peter Doyle he did not need a court-appointed attorney and wanted to represent himself.
But Doyle said because he was given probation for his first disorderly conduct offense, he was looking at potential jail time if convicted a second time. At first, Piercy signed a release form stating he did not want a court-appointed attorney. But according to his court docket, a public defender was later assigned to him.
Piercy was released on personal recognizance and ordered to return to court June 24 for a pretrial hearing.
The incident began Monday about 11:10 p.m. when Amesbury police responded to High Street after receiving a report of a man throwing things at the windows of his next door neighbor.
When police arrived, they saw Piercy in the backyard, sitting in a lawn chair. He appeared intoxicated and was bleeding from his mouth and leg. Piercy told Officer Sean Ward that he had fallen in the driveway he shares with his neighbor, according to Ward's report.
Ward went to the neighbor, who told the officer he was relaxing in his living room when he heard objects being thrown at his porch windows.
"In the middle of our conversation I heard Officer (Robert) Coppola over the radio say that Mr. Piercy took off on foot. Due to the risk of Mr. Piercy accessing a vehicle while highly intoxicated or entering (the victim's home), I then exited the porch and caught up to Mr. Piercy," Ward wrote in his report.
Piercy resisted when Ward tried to arrest him.
"While attempting to handcuff Mr. Piercy, he was yelling which caused his neighbors to come to their windows to see what the commotion was," Ward wrote in his report detailing why he charged Piercy with disorderly conduct.
Earlier in the evening, Amesbury police responded to the same address for a verbal domestic call involving Piercy and his girlfriend, according to court records.
Staff writer Dave Rogers can be reached at drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
