Horhsam ACME (Image courtesy of Google StreetView)
Horsham Township Police reported he spit on two different officers both at the scene and during processing.
A man throwing rocks at a vehicle draws police attention as they’re dispatched to the 200 block of Blair Mill Road in Horsham.
The Horsham Township Police Department reported that, around 2:39 p.m. on Sept. 23, officers were called out to inspect a suspicious person. Reports said that a caller described a male, wearing a white hat, black shirt, and blue shorts with tennis shoes and white socks, carrying a green backpack.
According to reports, police met the caller who led them to the person. The man was sitting on a curb in the Acme parking lot, close to the Burger King, police said. Police identified John Francis Snyder, 23, of the 200 block of West County Line Road, in Hatboro, as the actor, said reports, who matched the description. Snyder, police said, was known to police as having mental health incidents.
The vehicle, a Cadillac Escalade with Pennsylvania tags, was damaged, police said. Reports stated that the caller said Snyder threw rocks “in the air in the direction of his vehicle.” The rocks, police said, subsequently hit the Cadillac. Reports said that police observed “chips, glass shattering on the front windshield in multiple places.” Additionally, according to reports, police saw dents and paint chips on the hood and roof of the car. The estimated damages totaled $12,252.64, according to police.
Police said that, when attempting to speak to Snyder, he “stated he was invoking his fifth amendment right to remain silent,” however “proceeded to make rambling statements” about his family, listing vehicles they owned, and how his mother and father were on their way. Snyder’s mother did arrive at the scene, and police attempted to assist Snyder into the passenger’s seat of her vehicle, reports said.
According to police, Snyder then spit upon one officer, and that bodily fluid struck the officer’s left ear and left shoulder. Police instructed Snyder to get out of the car, with multiple verbal commands, said reports, but he refused to move. Police said Snyder continued to “ramble not making sense,” asking for his father.
Reports said police attempted to de-escalate the issue, telling Snyder he could have his father if he got out, but he did not get out. Officers said that they “used control techniques” to remove Snyder, with two officers controlling his arms, and “together we guided Snyder to the ground slowly and without causing injury,” said reports. Snyder was handcuffed, police said, and placed in a sitting position.
Around 2:51 p.m., Snyder was taken into custody according to reports for charges of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer. Police said he was additionally charged with disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, and propulsion of missiles onto a roadway.
During transport, police said that Snyder made an “unprovoked admission,” stating “I don’t understand what’s going on here. I was walking home. I found some rocks. I picked them up and threw them in the air. I don’t know why that car was there.”
Police said that, as Snyder was being processed, his mental status changed, and he “became irate” when they asked him to remove a necklace. According to reports, Snyder “spring from a seated position, balled his fists, face got bright red, and he began screaming ‘Let’s go’ over and over.” When told to stop, police reported that Snyder “forcefully spit” at an officer, with the spit striking the officer’s left side of the face and body.
Snyder will face two felony charges and two misdemeanors in court. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 7 at 9:30 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Todd Stephens. He is currently held in the county jail, unable to post a $5,000 monetary bail.
