Police: Man charged in rebar assault case possessed prohibited firearms
A Butler man accused of hitting someone in the head with a piece of rebar was concealing prohibited firearms in an air mattress when he was arrested, according to charges filed Monday, Jan. 22.
State police were searching for Thomas J. Clark, 31, after charging him with striking James J. Smith and rendering him unconscious last week.
When Clark was apprehended Saturday, Jan. 20, in relation to the assault, police said he was carrying an air mattress concealing an AR-style rifle, a revolver and ammunition.
Clark was taken into custody and charged with felonies prohibited possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm without a license and possession of a firearm with an altered manufactured number, and misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Clark was placed in Butler County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail for the assault, and a $75,000 bail was added because of the new charges. He remains incarcerated.
According to new charging documents, state police received a tip that Clark was seen Saturday on East Jefferson Street in Butler.
Police issued a warrant for Clark’s arrest after Smith was flown from a Franklin Township restaurant to a Pittsburgh hospital Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Smith suffered a fractured skull and a brain bleed after Clark hit him in the head with a piece of rebar at a home in Evans City, according to police.
Clark was charged Friday with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault.
Police said they investigated the East Jefferson Street residence on Saturday and saw Clark exiting with multiple bags and an air mattress.
Documents showed Clark was confronted by police at the Honey Bear gas station and did not comply with commands, dropping what he was carrying and attempting to leave the scene.
Clark was taken to the ground, police said, and refused to put his hands behind his back. He eventually complied, documents showed. That’s when police found the guns and ammo rolled in the air mattress.
Clark is not allowed to possess firearms due to a 2017 case in which he pleaded guilty to operating a methamphetamine lab, police said.
Clark’s preliminary hearing on Monday’s charges has not yet been scheduled.
