Man Goes on Sign-Damaging Rampage, Police Say
Removed multiple signs and swung them around, witnesses said.
A Conshohocken man is facing multiple charges of vandalism and criminal mischief, after a he went on a bizarre sign-damaging rampage last weekend, reports show.
According to a report filed by the Whitemarsh Police Department, Scott Perkins, 34, of the 400 block of Roberts Avenue, Conshohocken, spent about an hour ripping out numerous signs in Whitemarsh Township on June 24, requiring police to respond to the scene twice.
The first call came in at just after 4 p.m., when a resident near the township's Cedar Grove Park told police that she saw a man walking up Wells Street toward Cedar Grove Road "kicking the guide rail in anger." The witness told police she then saw the man, described as bald and wearing a black golf shirt, attempting to rip out two signs-- first a no parking sign, and then a 25 mph sign.
He then managed to pull out a large yellow side street indicator on Cedar Grove Road and began to swing it around, before throwing it against the Cedar Grove Park entrance sign, the witness told police. She called authorities when the man continued toward Cedar Grove Road, out of "concern for her safety and the safety of the community… [in the] park."
Police responded to the scene and found the man, whom they identified as Perkins, in a rear yard on the north side of Cedar Grove Road and Lincoln Lane. He then admitted to removing the signs, but told police that there "is no law prohibiting him from doing so," the report said. Perkins was also extremely confrontational and accused police of profiling and harassment, the report said.
After warning Perkins and citing him for disorderly conduct and criminal mischief, Perkins was released from the scene.
However, less than an hour alter, police were again dispatched to Roberts Avenue and Wells Streets after another witness saw Perkins pulling out street signs. Upon arrival, police found a 25 mph speed sign ripped out of the ground and thrown onto a side yard of a nearby house.
Police responded to Perkins' home, where he answered the door wearing only a pair of white brief-style underwear and became hostile toward police, telling them to "get off his property," the report said. Perkins then slammed and locked his door and began to take pictures of the officers, according to the report.
According to documents on file at the 38-1-23 district court, Perkins faces charges of vandalism, criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct, and is currently awaiting a preliminary hearing.