Source: Creepy clown with knife chases kids at Chesterfield bus stop - NBC12 - WWBT - Richmond, VA News On Your Side
CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) -
A man dressed as a clown and holding a knife was arrested for chasing children from a Chesterfield bus stop, according to police.
13-year-old Emily Portillo was a brave one in a group of students who had just gotten home from school last Monday afternoon and saw the clown wandering the streets with something in his hand. She decided to capture video on her phone to see what he would do.
Police said the man in a black and white clown costume holding a knife. According to Emily, the clown was following kids as they were running and screaming after they got off the bus Monday afternoon.
No one was hurt, but police identified the clown as 23-year-old Nathaniel Dunivin, who was chasing the kids in the Greenleigh Mobile Home Park around 4:21 p.m. on Oct. 26, according to police. Dunivin was still wearing the mask and holding the knife when police found him near the 2300 block of Vicki Court in Chester, police said.
Police arrested Dunivin on charges of assault, possession of a weapon on school property and wearing a mask in public, but BC12 Legal Analyst Steve Benjamin said he is not sure the charges will hold up in court. He said while wearing a mask in public is typically against the law, there are exceptions, like Halloween. He also said a school bus stop isn't school property. However, he said the fear factor alone could be considered a crime. "The more likely it is to scare and terrify children at a bus stop, the more serious authorities are going to take it."
Benjamin said Dunivin could be facing up to a year in jail just with that assault charge alone.
CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) -
A man dressed as a clown and holding a knife was arrested for chasing children from a Chesterfield bus stop, according to police.
13-year-old Emily Portillo was a brave one in a group of students who had just gotten home from school last Monday afternoon and saw the clown wandering the streets with something in his hand. She decided to capture video on her phone to see what he would do.
Police said the man in a black and white clown costume holding a knife. According to Emily, the clown was following kids as they were running and screaming after they got off the bus Monday afternoon.
No one was hurt, but police identified the clown as 23-year-old Nathaniel Dunivin, who was chasing the kids in the Greenleigh Mobile Home Park around 4:21 p.m. on Oct. 26, according to police. Dunivin was still wearing the mask and holding the knife when police found him near the 2300 block of Vicki Court in Chester, police said.
Police arrested Dunivin on charges of assault, possession of a weapon on school property and wearing a mask in public, but BC12 Legal Analyst Steve Benjamin said he is not sure the charges will hold up in court. He said while wearing a mask in public is typically against the law, there are exceptions, like Halloween. He also said a school bus stop isn't school property. However, he said the fear factor alone could be considered a crime. "The more likely it is to scare and terrify children at a bus stop, the more serious authorities are going to take it."
Benjamin said Dunivin could be facing up to a year in jail just with that assault charge alone.
