By Tim Binnall
An Upstate New York man is reportedly headed to prison for a bizarre incident wherein he donned a clown mask and threatened an individual with a chainsaw. The wild case, which made national headlines when it occurred in the Albany suburb of Cohoes last May, began when Craig Wolcott was seen wandering around a neighborhood wearing the unusual disguise and peeking into cars. A confrontation with a concerned resident soon followed, with the clown brandishing an electric chainsaw that failed to frighten the Good Samaritan, who summarily pinned him to the ground until police could arrive and arrest the harlequin.
Charged with first-degree menacing and criminal possession of a weapon, Wolcott was found guilty this past December in a jury trial where prosecutors showed footage of the strange showdown (seen above). Last week, the clown learned his fate when a judge, who called the incident "one of the strangest cases this court has heard over the past 20 years," handed down a prison sentence of 18 to 54 months. For his part, Wolcott expressed remorse over the misadventure, attributing it to having been drinking all day and failing to take his mental health medication. He also claimed that the incident was the result of "a prank gone wrong," asserting that he had been en route to frighten a friend with the creepy get-up when the altercation inadvertently occurred.