Ithaca man arrested after incident involving baseball bat and walking stick

ITHACA, NY (WETM) – An Ithaca man was arrested on multiple charges following two separate incidents that occurred near downtown Ithaca yesterday.

According to Ithaca Police, officers were called to a home in the 400 block of North Aurora Street at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 6, after receiving a report of a man involved in an argument with the homeowner.

According to police, the man threatened the homeowner with a baseball bat during the argument and then began swinging the bat around near him in an attempt to scare him. The two people involved in this incident are said to know each other.

Then, that same day at 4:58 p.m., police were dispatched to the 100 block of East Seneca Street after receiving a report of a man with a wooden walking stick striking a vehicle traveling through the intersection of Tioga Street and East Seneca Street. Police say the vehicle sustained damage as a result and that the victim did not know the man.

After investigating both incidents, police identified 66-year-old Richard M. Johnston as the person responsible. He was located by police on a bicycle in the Fall Creek neighborhood at around 5:28 p.m. and taken into custody after a brief attempt to evade arrest.

Johnston was subsequently charged with the following:

• Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class D felony
• Third-degree criminal damage, a class E felony
• Second-degree menacing, a Class A misdemeanor
• Obstruction of governmental administration, a Class A misdemeanor

The charges against Johnston were read to him in the Ithaca Municipal Court by the Honorable Judge Peacock and he was released on parole.

IPD asks anyone with information about any of the incidents to contact them as soon as possible using one of the following methods:

• Police emergency number: 607-272-3245
• Police Department: 607-272-9973
• Police hotline: 607-330-0000
• Anonymous email tip address: www.cityofithaca.org/ipdtips