By Tim Binnall
In a wild story from Upstate New York, a chainsaw-wielding ne'er-do-well clad in a clown mask briefly menaced a neighborhood before being taken down by a vigilant resident. According to a local media report, the bizarre bust occurred last Thursday afternoon in the community of Cohoes near Albany. "I saw a dude in a blue sports jersey in a clown mask walking down the street," witness Natalie Gwinn recalled, "it was a little weird, but I kind of rolled my eyes and ignored it." Her nonchalance soon turned to concern when "I heard a man screaming 'call the cops' repeatedly."
It was later revealed that after the clown left Gwinn's line of sight, her neighbor noticed him peering into vehicles parked along the street. That suspicious observation led him to confront the wandering harlequin, which resulted in a scuffle erupting between the pair. When the proverbial dust settled, the neighbor had pinned the clown down and was yelling for someone to phone the police, which Gwinn had heard moments after she spotted the curious clown.
Cops quickly arrived on the scene and separated the two men, ultimately arresting the clown who was found to be in possession of both an electric chainsaw and a "metal knuckle knife," both of which yielded felony weapons charges. The unmasked harlequin, identified as Craig W. Wolcott, was also booked for menacing an individual with a "dangerous instrument or deadly weapon." While the strange incident understandably unnerved the normally quiet neighborhood, one imagines that they can likely rest easy since in this instance the creepy clown was taken into custody and is unlikely to make a return appearance in the area.