Uninvited guest faces charges

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A man police say broke into an apartment of some people he had just met, ate their food and threatened to kill them with a chainsaw blade was arrested.

Christopher E. Davis, 35, of Seymour faces at least 10 criminal charges in connection with the investigation, including burglary, theft and four counts each of criminal confinement and intimidation.

Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott said Davis met the four people at a restaurant this past week and then started showing up uninvited to their apartment in the following days.

Abbott said the people told police Davis would barge in and eat and drink whatever was in their cabinets and threatened to “cut their heads off.”

Davis’ arrest Saturday was not his first run-in with law enforcement that involved violence, Abbott said.

According to court documents, two months ago, Davis pleaded guilty to intimidation or to threatening another person to place them in fear of retaliation for a prior act. He was sentenced to time served in that case. In 2014, he was convicted of battery resulting in bodily injury. 

The events that led to Saturday’s arrest began a few days earlier when Davis encountered two men and two women at a restaurant, police said.

Shortly after that meeting, Davis began going to an apartment in the 300 block of South Jackson Park Drive at Silver House Apartments, where two of the four lived, police said.

Davis would wait outside for the two and then follow them into the apartment, police said. 

Abbott said Davis would “eat everything he could get his hands on” in the apartment.

The situation began to escalate and turned violent when Davis would show up and threaten to “kill everybody there” using a blade from a chainsaw. He also said he would “cut their heads off.” 

At one point, Abbott said, Davis barged into one of the rooms of the apartment where one man was asleep and came at his throat with the blade. 

No injuries were reported from the break-ins, but Abbott said the group members soon were scared to the point where they decided to call 911. 

At 7:40 p.m. Saturday, Jackson County dispatch received a call from a woman whispering, and Seymour police went to the apartment to see what was going on. 

Officers Jim Handley and Crystal Schapson arrived at the apartment and reported they could see the door was open and heard a man talking inside. They said they saw Davis was standing with this back to the door, but once he turned around to face them, police could tell something was wrong. 

“Once officers made contact and Davis turned around, the officer asked if everything was OK, and the occupants at the apartment (behind Davis) were shaking their heads no,” Abbott said. “They were trying to let the officer see without Davis knowing that things were not good.” 

Abbott said the details of the incident were discovered after interviewing the four, and Davis was arrested. Police also found a glass methamphetamine pipe on Davis, resulting in a drug paraphernalia charge.

Abbott said he’s unsure why the four had not called police earlier.

Davis was being held without bond at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown pending his initial hearing.

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