Inset: Zachary Heckathorn (Martins Ferry Police Department). Background: The church where Heckathorn allegedly caused a disturbance and punched a volunteer in Martins Ferry, Ohio (Google Maps).
An Ohio man had some choice words — confident, vituperative, sort of loud — when he appeared in court earlier this week. What should have been a relatively dull affair quickly became bedlam.
Zachary Heckathorn, 33, stands accused of one count each of assault, criminal trespass, and aggravated menacing, according to the Belmont County Sheriff”s Office and Martins Ferry Police Department.
The charges stem from an incident on Nov. 14, when the defendant allegedly entered Rethreads, a free store run by the Grace Presbyterian Church on Hanover Street in Martins Ferry — a small town located near the border with West Virginia and roughly 60 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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At the store, Heckathorn allegedly caused a disturbance and was asked to leave — eventually being escorted out by a volunteer, Martins Ferry Police Chief Vince West said in comments reported by Wheeling-based CBS, MyNetworkTV, and ABC affiliate WTRF.
The defendant allegedly returned just after 10 a.m. that same day and attacked the volunteer, police say. In total, the volunteer was punched in the face and body somewhere between 10 and 15 times, according to law enforcement. Then, the assailant fled down an alleyway.
Heckathorn was quickly arrested on the strength of witness descriptions, police said, roughly two blocks away from the store.
The defendant has been in the Belmont County Jail since his arrest. During his hearing this week, he appeared by way of a video feed from jail wearing an orange inmate’s uniform.
As the hearing began, attorneys for both sides requested a continuance, according to a courtroom report by WTRF.
This request apparently did not sit well with Heckathorn – who launched into a bid for an immediate trial and self-representation.
“I believe my lawyer, my so-called lawyer, is incompetent,” he said. “I do not wish to have a lawyer to represent me. I can represent myself. I do not want a continuance. I’ve already had a pretrial. A pretrial is still trial. I am being denied my right to a fair and speedy trial.”
After a brief pause, the defendant went on.
“That is also the obstruction of justice,” Heckathorn continued. “There is no evidence against me. A statement that somebody’s saying something is not evidence, it’s hearsay. I am going to be declared innocent because I am innocent.”
As the hearing went on, the outbursts reportedly continued — despite the defendant being warned not to speak out of turn.
Over time, the contretemps grew increasingly chaotic, WTRF reported.
Heckathorn is due back in court for trial on Dec. 12.
