Ohio Man Charged With Assault By Pizza On Girlfriend

According to police in Masury, Ohio, Kenneth Evans, 24, “was highly intoxicated and his mood was rapidly shifting” when he was arrested. His mug-shot might have been taken during the happy mood swing.  Evans is charged with hitting his girlfriend in the face with pizza.

What is interesting about the case is that Evas is not only charged with assault but criminal damaging or endangering, according to jail records.

ABC reported  that neighbors called about a domestic disturbance and they were told that the fight started while the couple was still in the car driving home.  The charge of damaging or endangering is not well known and here is the statutory provision:

2909.06 Criminal damaging or endangering.

(A) No person shall cause, or create a substantial risk of physical harm to any property of another without the other person’s consent:

(1) Knowingly, by any means;

(2) Recklessly, by means of fire, explosion, flood, poison gas, poison, radioactive material, caustic or corrosive material, or other inherently dangerous agency or substance.

(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of criminal damaging or endangering, a misdemeanor of the second degree. If a violation of this section creates a risk of physical harm to any person, criminal damaging or endangering is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the property involved in a violation of this section is an aircraft, an aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, spare part, or any other equipment or implement used or intended to be used in the operation of an aircraft and if the violation creates a risk of physical harm to any person, criminal damaging or endangering is a felony of the fifth degree. If the property involved in a violation of this section is an aircraft, an aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, spare part, or any other equipment or implement used or intended to be used in the operation of an aircraft and if the violation creates a substantial risk of physical harm to any person or if the property involved in a violation of this section is an occupied aircraft, criminal damaging or endangering is a felony of the fourth degree.

Effective Date: 07-01-1996.

At first, I thought the charge was linked to driving home drunk, but the provision centers on “means of fire, explosion, flood, poison gas, poison, radioactive material, caustic or corrosive material, or other inherently dangerous agency or substance.”  Is the “caustic or corrosive material” the slice of pizza?

TV station WFMJ said the assault consisted of Evans “pushing a pizza into his girlfriend’s face.” The station identified the woman as Evans’ girlfriend.

I can understand charging James Cagney, but would the citric acid in the grapefruit meet the same definition for Mae Clarke?