Mark Reese

Prosecutors have charged a Powell man with a felony crime after he allegedly used his head to damage a police officer’s patrol vehicle last week.

Charging documents say Mark D. Reese was initially arrested for refusing to leave another man’s room at the Best Choice Motel. More charges followed after the 46-year-old allegedly yelled profanities at responding officers and damaged the vehicle.

Reese faces misdemeanor counts of criminal trespassing and breach of peace, plus the felony count of property destruction totaling $1,000 or more. He was released on a $7,500 cash or surety bond the day after his arrest and is now awaiting further proceedings, the Park County Sheriff’s records show.

Powell police were dispatched to the Best Choice around 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 11, after one of the motel’s residents reported that he’d been locked out of his own room by a man he knew only as “Mark.”

When Officer Reece McLain arrived at the motel, Mark Reese opened the door and spoke with the officer; Reese expressed confusion about the situation, McLain wrote in an affidavit, describing the defendant’s speech as “slow and incoherent.”

Despite being told multiple times that his own room was next door, Reese contended he was in the right place and repeatedly refused to leave, McLain wrote, prompting his arrest. A brief struggle followed, the officer’s affidavit says, with Reese yelling expletives loud enough for passersby to hear.

While being led to Officer Matt Koritnik’s patrol vehicle, Reese “continued to yell profanities at officers that included ‘f— you …,’” the affidavit says. Then, as he was being searched, Reese reportedly began banging his head against the vehicle’s rear passenger fender.

“Mark [Reese] was told to stop, which he eventually did,” McLain wrote. Reese was uninjured, police say, but he caused “four significant dents” to the fender that would cost more than $1,000 to fix.

While out on bond and awaiting further proceedings, Reese must stay in Park and Big Horn counties and not drink alcohol or be in bars, among other conditions. A preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence for the case to advance toward a trial had been set for Tuesday, but was delayed at the request of Reese’s attorney.