Schuylkill County Man Reportedly Peed All Over Holding Cell Following Drunk and Disorderly Night at Bar

A Tamaqua man is facing charges following an alleged drunk and disorderly night late last month.

According to an affidavit filed by police in Tamaqua, officers were called to a bar at E. Broad and Greenwood streets just before 2 a.m. on Feb. 28. Upon their arrival, police say they saw the owner of the bar holding a person back, trying to escort him out the door of the establishment. 

The patron, identified as Andrew Harley Jr., 31, had reportedly been told to leave the bar several times but refused to do so. Police say it was obvious that Harley Jr. was drunk at the time. He was yelling at patrons inside the bar at the time.

Inside the bar, police say they spoke with a patron who said he had a physical altercation with Harley Jr. as he tried to remove him from the building. During the altercation, that patron said Harley Jr. punched him in the head and face with a fist.

Police confronted Harley Jr. sitting across the street from the bar. They say as they informed him of the accusations against him, he told police, “Arrest me.” Per his insistence, that’s what police did, intending to hold him until he’d sobered up and released to the custody of a family member.

While in his holding cell back at the Tamaqua police station, officers say Harley Jr. shook and banged on the barred door. While in custody, police say Harley Jr. threatened to have the badges of the officers who arrested him.

At one point, police say Harley Jr. said he was going to “p**s on the floor.” A short time later, police say they heard the sound of a zipper being undone and a “fluid hitting the floor.” When police checked, they found a “large amount” of fluid on the floor.

Harley Jr. has been charged with simple assault, institutional vandalism, defiant trespass, and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors. He’s also facing harassment and public drunkenness summary offenses. A preliminary hearing before District Magistrate Judge Stephen Bayer has been scheduled for April 8.

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