LANSFORD -- Carl Stevens, 33, of Nesquehoning was arrested yesterday on a slew of different charges after he smashed up part of the police station in Lansford with a tire iron. The police chief said it was all over girlfriend troubles.
Carl Stevens smashed the Lansford Police Station with a tire iron. It was caught on surveillance video in a beating that town tax collector Daniel Wynn and his friend say they`ll never forget.
"I don't think any of the people here were afraid. We just were in shock. We had no idea why he's doing this," said Lansford Tax Collector Daniel Wynn.
"Crashing from the glass and we looked out and he was banging every window out and I didn't want to go down because he had the tire iron with him," said Don Gildea of Lansford.
The chief said this window was replaced within a half hour of Stevens smashing it apart. The windows will cost $8,000 to $10,000 to replace, and the chief said they will take some time to fix.
In all, Stevens smashed a glass door and seven windows.
Police said Stevens tried to break the doors of the borough office but couldn`t, so he took a cigarette break. That`s when Lansford Police Chief John Turcmanovich showed up.
"He said 'I smashed your windows. I want to go to jail.' And I took him into custody, brought him down here into the office, and we worked on granting his wish," said Lansford Police Chief John Turcmanovich.
At his arraignment, Stevens destroyed the Magistrate's office.
Chief Turcmanovich says Stevens was fired up from a fight with his girlfriend earlier in the day, and told her he was going to beat up a police car.
Since no cars were at the station at the time, he went for the building instead.
"You know, you just think my god, what would I have done if I was in here and he came crashing through the door and window?"
The chief said Stevens has an extensive criminal history, and recently served time for assaulting a state trooper. The tax collector believed Stevens wanted to take out his anger toward police.
Stevens is now locked up on $50,000 cash bail.