A homeless, axe-wielding Schuylkill County man was jailed earlier this month after police say he threatened to kill a man doing yard work.
Mark Tutko, 68, was charged with misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another and simple assault.
Police in Shenandoah said the encounter began during the morning hours of Aug. 1 when Tutko told a resident working outside his home that he was going to kill him. The resident ignored the statement and attempted to continue doing yard work around his home.
As the resident continued working, Tutko asked him to go “out back” where he said he would kill him, police said.
The resident later drove a lawn tractor pulling a trailer filled with weeds to a dirt path behind the 300 block of W. Washington St. to dump them. While the resident was on the path, Tutko appeared, swinging an axe, and shouting that he was going to kill him, according to police.
The victim told officers that when police were called, Tutko threw the axe into a nearby yard.
Police say they recovered the axe from the yard, describing it as having a brown handle with a silver sharpened edge and the name “Mark” written on the handle.
Tutko told officers he is homeless and lives in the wooded area along the dirt path behind the 300 block of W. Washington St.
Following his arrest, Tutko was arraigned and bail was set at $15,000. Unable to post bail, Tutko was remanded to Schuylkill County Prison.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13 before Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker.
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