TRENTON, Maine — A local man is facing multiple charges after he scuffled with a Hancock County sheriff’s deputy while being questioned about an erratic driving complaint.
Ricky Skillings, 56, was arrested Sunday after he allegedly assaulted Deputy Chris Thornton with a thermos full of coffee, according to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. Skillings was charged with assault on an officer, operating a motor vehicle after suspension, refusing to submit to arrest and disorderly conduct, according to a written summary of the incident.
Thornton was questioning Skillings after police received a complaint about an erratic vehicle on Route 3 in Trenton. Police later tracked down the vehicle, which led them to Skillings, the vehicle’s registered owner, at his home, police said.
Skillings is accused of becoming “extremely irate and uncooperative” while talking to Thornton, then striking him with the Thermos, the summary indicated. Thornton said the thermos opened up during the alleged assault, covering the deputy with its contents.
According to officials at Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth, Skillings was released from the jail Sunday evening on $1,000 unsecured cash bail.
