CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man is behind bars for allegedly throwing a pair of knives at an elderly male with a young child sitting nearby.
Zaccery D. Conklin, 33, is charged by Clearfield Borough police with five felony counts of aggravated assault and four misdemeanor counts of simple assault.
He’s also charged with two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment; misdemeanor terroristic threats and possessing instrument of crime and related offenses.
The investigation began at 2:47 p.m. Sept. 6 following a 911 hang-up call from a young child at a Williams Street residence, according to the affidavit.
At the scene, police were let inside by a 76-year-old male who appeared to be in a state of panic. He said Conklin was trying to kill him by throwing knives at him.
As the officer spoke with the victim, Conklin emerged from another room and reportedly appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance.
“He was … sweating profusely, unable to stand still and appeared paranoid,” the affidavit states. Conklin grabbed the knives from the TV stand when the officer asked about their location.
Police ordered Conklin to put the knives down, which he did following a second command. He was escorted outside as another officer arrived on-scene.
He maintained custody of Conklin while the other officer went inside to obtain more information. The male victim said Conklin came home around 10 a.m. and got paranoid.
He said Conklin began covering up all the windows and closed all the interior doors. Reportedly, he stuck knives to keep some blankets over windows.
This, the victim said, occurred approximately five different times that day because he took the blankets down every time Conklin put them up.
Later an argument broke out and Conklin allegedly threw two knives at the victim from approximately 18 feet away. Both struck the wall to the right of the couch where the male was seated.
A 7-year-old child victim was on an adjacent couch and approximately five feet away from where the knives allegedly struck the wall.
One knife fell behind the couch and the other next to the boy. Police seized the knives from the TV stand for evidentiary purposes and Conklin was housed in county jail on a probation detainer.
In a forensic interview, the child victim told investigators at the Child Advocacy Center that he got scared and doesn’t feel safe when Conklin comes around.
The victim said he knew he had to call for help “fast,” and gave a detailed account of the incident, which closely corroborated that given by the male.
Conklin waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday, sending his case to county court for further disposition. His bail is currently set at $100,000 monetary.