A Rippey man was arrested July 2 in connection with a June 28 incident in which he allegedly defaced his next-door neighbor’s house with red paint and broke the windshield of his neighbor’s pickup truck, causing an estimated $30,000 in damage.
William Russell Griffin, 45, of 306 Howard St., Rippey, was charged with first-degree criminal mischief and criminal trespass.
According to court records, Griffin and the victim “have been in an ongoing feud.”
The victim provided three surveillance videos to the Greene County Deputy Sheriff who investigated the crimes. Two of the videos were recorded June 28 and the third was recorded June 23, and all show a figure who moved with “a distinct gait where it appears he is favoring a leg and has a waddle when he is walking,” according to court records.
The figure in the videos allegedly matched the description of Griffin.
One of the June 28 videos “shows the suspect throwing paint on the roof and the front door and siding of the residence” at 307 Fourth St. in Rippey. The suspect then “waddles down a small hill” and “grabs something out of his duffel bag and hits” the windshield of the victim’s vehicle.
The suspect then “runs off with a waddle, going north and then turns left going back to the west” and in “the direction to William’s property,” according to court records.
According to court records, Griffin told the investigating officer on June 28 that he was “very stressed lately with things going on in his life, and he has mental issues that he takes medications for on top of it” and that “he may have had a couple of alcoholic drinks last night on top of his medication, and it may have affected him.”
Damage to the victim’s property was estimated at $30,000. The assessed valuation of the property is $17,900, according to records of the Greene County Assessor’s office.
Griffin was arrested July 2 on a Greene County warrant and held in the Greene County Jail before being released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 22 in Greene County District Court.
Griffin was convicted of assault on a peace officer in 2017 in Dallas County District Court in connection with a June 2016 incident in which he was arrested by the Perry Police Department and charged with indecent exposure, assault on a peace officer, simple assault and interference with official acts after allegedly exposing himself to a juvenile male and then assaulting the boy.
The incident occurred shortly before midnight June 26 near Eighth and Pattee streets in Perry. According to court records, the victim told police that Griffin first asked him for help and then exposed himself before he “slapped the juvenile in the face, saying he was ‘God.'”
As the boy was picking up the eyeglasses slapped from his face, “Griffin tried to apologize and kiss the juvenile.” The victim fled the scene and reported the incident to the Perry Police Department, who responded. When officers tried to handcuff Griffin, he “began resisting and pushed officers away, attempting to flee. At that time, a Taser was deployed, and the officers were able to take him into custody,” according to court records.
A court-ordered mental evaluation later determined that Griffin was competent to stand trial, and he was convicted in 2017 of assault on a peace officer. The other charges were dismissed in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
