58°
Prosecutor said Richard Decker, 31, damaged vehicle tires and left "harassing messages" -- in one case threatening to beat a wife with a wooden stick -- when his requests were denied, the NJ Herald reports.
That was enough to convince a Superior Court judge in Newton to order that Decker remain held in the Morris County Correctional Facility until a scheduled Nov. 4 hearing for a "pattern of unlawful conduct that presents a danger to the community."
Decker was arrested on Oct. 3, 14 months after authorities said he began writing to farms in Hardyston, Franklin, Frankford, Wantage and Andover asking to have sex with the animals -- specifically cows and horses.
After being rejected, they said, Decker left handmade metal tire deflation devices on the property owners' driveways that damaged many cars, according to the NJ Herald account.
A search of the home Decker shares with his mother and brother produced a homemade, unlicensed .22-caliber gun, arrows with attached explosives and explosive powder and metal tire deflation spikes like those used against the farm owners, Assistant Prosecutor Magdelen Czykier told Superior Judge N. Peter Conforti in Newton.
Defense attorney argued that Decker had no previous criminal history, a job offer in Franklin Lakes and what were essentially firecrackers, the story says.
Decker is charged with possession of destructive devices for illegal uses, unlawfully producing firearms, cyber harassment, making terroristic threats and seeking to "procure an animal in [a] sexual manner or initiate any sexual conduct with an animal."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Northern Highlands and receive free news updates.
