TIONESTA, Pa. (EYT) – A 54-year-old man is facing a preliminary hearing on Tuesday afternoon on felony trespassing after he allegedly attempted to enter a residence to “hide from the dogs” that were nowhere to be seen.

Court documents indicate the Forest County Sheriff filed the following criminal charges against 54-year-old William J. Hamilton, of McKees Rocks, on July 18:

– Criminal Trespass-Break Into Structure, Felony 2
– Public Drunkenness And Similar Misconduct, Summary

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24, with Judge Daniel L. Miller presiding.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, Deputy Hawk, of the Forest County Sheriff’s Department, received a call on Tuesday, July 17, regarding a male in a white tank top and white shorts trying to get into a house on Elm Street in Tionesta Borough.

Deputy Hawk discovered the man, who was later identified as William Hamilton, pulling on the handle of a door at the front of an Elm Street residence. Deputy Hawk then activated his emergency lights and directed Hamilton to come to the patrol vehicle.

According to the complaint, when Hamilton was asked what he was doing, he stated, “I’m trying to get into this house, so I can hide from the dogs.”

Deputy Hawk then took Hamilton into custody and transported him to the Forest County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the complaint, when Hamilton was being placed in a holding cell, he began yelling and then tried to get his restraints from behind his back to the front of his body.

The complaint states that Hamilton “kept stating he was going to die in the cell because he saw cats and dogs trying to get him” and Hamilton eventually sat in the corner of the cell “where he felt safe and that the hyenas would not get him.”

According to the complaint, when Hamilton was informed he was going to be charged with trespassing, he stated that “it was wrong for him to be charged for trespassing when he was just trying to run from the dogs.”

After being read his rights, Hamilton agreed to speak with Deputy Hawk and allegedly admitted that he uses meth as well as molly, the complaint states.

Hamilton was arraigned at 8:08 a.m. on Wednesday, July 18, in Magisterial District Judge Raymond F. Zydonik’s office.

Unable to post $10,000.00 monetary bail, he was lodged in the Warren County Jail.