Peabody man charged in bizarre incident
Staff writer
A Peabody man was charged Thursday with criminal threat, battery, and interference with law enforcement after an Oct. 20 incident during which he went to two rural homes just north of US-50 and threatened one man, grabbed another by the collar, fled the scene, and fought deputies when they tried to arrest him.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene at 1:35 a.m. Oct. 20. John D. Gillett of rural Peabody told deputy Landis Goodman that Richard T. Litton had threatened to shoot him. Gillet’s neighbor, Alan G. Mallott, 85, reported Litton grabbed him by the collar.
Litton already had fled when deputies arrived, but deputies found him a few blocks away trying to get into the home of Leslie H. Thouvenell. Undersheriff Larry Starkey said Litton apparently thought someone else lived in Thouvenell’s home.
“When deputies caught up to him in Peabody, he tried to get back in the vehicle and leave,” Starkey said. “He got combative, and they had to use force to get him in the vehicle.”
Litton appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, Starkey said.
He is being held in lieu of a $10,000 bond.