A Utah man whose face was painted to look like the Joker was arrested after being accused of breaking into a residence and attempting to kill a man inside, according to police.
The incident happened on March 28, when police responded to a report of a man attempting to break into a home, the Vernal Police Department said in a Facebook post. The man had reportedly left the area by the time police were notified, but officers were told that he had painted his face to resemble the iconic villain from Batman comics and movies.
Based on that description, officers were able to find the man, Jonathan Tyler Clark. Clark also had a knife in his possession, and he told police that he had stolen the knife and face paint from a Walmart store earlier, the post said.
Upon investigating, police found that Clark knew the people who lived in the home he was trying to break into. Clark told officers that he planned to stab one of the residents to death, and that he wanted to kill anyone who got in his way, the post said.
According to the affidavit, Clark told police that the man he wanted to kill had called him names earlier. When police questioned him a second time, Clark said the other man had called him a pedophile, KSL reported.
Clark had previously been convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor and dealing harmful materials to a minor in 2019, after which he was required to register himself on the Utah Sex Offender and Kidnap Registry, the outlet reported.
Police said in the probable cause statement that Clark first tried to break into the apartment through his intended victim’s window, but wasn’t able to get inside. Afterward, he sat on the front porch until someone shined a flashlight at him and told him to leave, Gephardt Daily reported.
The probable cause statement also said that when police found Clark, he was “slurring his speech and swaying,” and that he later told officers that he had used methamphetamine and cough medicine, the outlet reported.
Clark was arrested and booked into the Uintah County Jail on charges of attempted homicide, unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon, intoxication and criminal trespass, police said in the post. He is being held without bail.
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