Charles Manning, 78, allegedly dumped a cup of bedbugs at the Augusta, Maine city hall, in 2017. He was charged with assault and obstructing governmental administration. The state reportedly offered Manning a plea deal in which they'd drop the assault and charge him $234 in restitution. Manning declined the offer. Later this month, his case will go to trial by jury. He's gone through at least five lawyers, "most of them citing an inability to communicate effectively with Manning," according to the Press Herald:
In an interview following the reported bedbug incident at Augusta City Center, Manning said he dumped the cupful of live bedbugs because city officials were not addressing his complaints about substandard housing; specifically, that his apartment was infested with bedbugs.
He said the bedbugs were so bad he could not sleep at night. He said he brought the bedbugs, which he had collected from his now-former apartment at 43 Court St., as proof of the infestation.
Manning said he later realized he had dumped the bedbugs at the wrong city department — the general assistance office — after his request for financial assistance was rejected. He apparently had meant to dump the bugs at the code enforcement office, which was where he had expressed frustration previously about bedbugs at his apartment.
(via Fark)
image: CDC/ Harvard University (public domain)
