March 14--After his Saturday arrest for pushing his girlfriend, a Harrison Avenue man found himself facing additional charges after he ripped a sprinkler head out of the ceiling of a holding cell, police said.
Richard McFarlin, 27, 521 Harrison Ave., stuck his middle finger at the surveillance camera in the cell at city police headquarters as he climbed on top of a sink in the cell and ripped the sprinkler head out of the ceiling, causing the area to flood for about 30 minutes, according to a criminal complaint.
Mr. McFarlin was initially arrested at his home shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday. He was being held on charges of disorderly conduct and harassment for the domestic incident when he caused the damage to the holding cell, police said.
City firefighters and Mark Seitzinger, director of the city's licensing and inspections office, had to respond to police headquarters shortly after 12 a.m. Sunday to shut off a water valve feeding the broken sprinkler head, according to the complaint.
The damage caused by the water flowing unabated for about 30 minutes was estimated at upward of $1,000, according to the complaint.
For that incident, Mr. McFarlin was charged with criminal mischief and institutional vandalism.
He was released and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 20.
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Copyright 2012 - The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
