Police arrested a man dressed as Batman who was clinging to the edge of the roof of Meyer Ace Hardware in downtown Petoskey, Michigan. Thirty-one-year-old Mark Wayne Williams was hit with a number of felony concealed weapons charges after he was found to be carrying Freeze Plus p, an aerosol “self-defense” spray, a folding steel baton, and gloves weighted with sand.
According to the Petoskey News, Williams told the court at his arraignment: “I honestly had no idea the items I was holding were illegal. I did not attempt to harm anyone with these items. I swear that.”
Police responded to reports of a man on the roof of a downtown business just after midnight on May 11th. When they arrived on the scene, officers saw “a male subject dressed in a Batman costume, hanging off the western wall of the building.” The police contingent, which included Michigan State Troopers, gained access to the roof and pulled the would-be Dark Knight to safety.
According to the Petoskey police, Williams, who is being held on $20,000 bail, is a habitual offender, who has now been arrested for the third time. Petoskey Public Safety Director John Calabrese told the Petoskey News: “We’ve had contact with him in the past where he has made himself to look like that Crow character, who is also a comic book character.”