A Brookville man spotted posing for a “selfie” with a cop car outside the St. Marys City police station on Monday while wearing a shirt declaring a hatred for “Pigs” and an affinity for designer drugs has been arrested after a knife-point altercation outside a nearby gas station.
George Henry Mitchell, 24, of 336 Madison Ave., Brookville, was reportedly observed by officers posing for a cell phone self-portrait with a police car in the station’s parking lot on Erie Avenue around 7:30 p.m. Monday. Mitchell did so wearing a shirt reading “I hate Pigs … and not pork” and “I love bath salts and AP,” according to police.
Roughly one half-hour later and a few blocks away, police say he accosted two men at knife-point outside the Sheetz gas station and convenience store in St. Marys. The men told police that Mitchell confronted them after they alerted store management to his alleged theft of merchandise.
Police caught up to Mitchell soon after, reportedly finding $18 in stolen beef jerky and energy drinks in his possession, as well as a five-and-three-quarters-inch blade, and the provocative shirt, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.
Mitchell is charged with misdemeanors of making terroristic threats causing a serious public inconvenience, possession of a weapon, disorderly conduct, and summary offenses of harassment and retail theft, according to court records obtained from Magisterial District Judge Mark S. Jacob’s office on Thursday.
The affiant, Sgt. K. Michael Shaffer of the City of St. Marys Police Department, said Mitchell did not appear to be under the influence at the time of the incident and was not taken for mental health evaluation or hospitalized. There were no drugs found in his possession.
Shaffer did not elaborate on what may have prompted the episode. Asked if it was likely the result of a mental health or substance abuse issue, Shaffer said “neither.”
Police said a review of store surveillance cameras also reportedly showed Mitchell removing the items from the store as well as placing the knife inside the vehicle driven by the two men involved in the altercation. He also reportedly chased after their car as they drove away and is said to have threatened both them and their families.
According to the affidavit, officers were already investigating a break-in and disturbance involving Mitchell on Monday. Officers say around 3 p.m., residents of Ash Street, located within blocks of both the Sheetz and police station, reported a man believed to be Mitchell acting “outwardly violent and odd.”
There was no bail amount set for Mitchell, according to court records by the end of the business day on Thursday and no defense attorney listed.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. May 27 in St. Marys District Court.
