By Joe Johnson
A former resident of the Athens-Clarke County-sanctioned homeless encampment reportedly threatened to stab staff members there Sunday morning.
According to an Athens-Clarke County police report, officers responded to the First Step encampment on Barber Street at about 10:48 a.m. to investigate a report by Charles Hardy, president of Athens Alliance Coalition, a nonprofit that is contracted to run the encampment, that a 42-year-old former resident was threatening to stab staff members.
The suspect had left the scene by the time officers arrived.
However, according to the incident report, officers met with Hardy and security personnel who told them that the suspect had been acting out in previous days and he was no longer a resident.
After being kicked out of the encampment, the suspect reportedly made attempts to climb the fence to gain reentry and was told by staffers that he had to leave.
“Security advised that she heard (the suspect) making threats to beat and stab the others if they go outside the gate,” according to the police report.
Hardy reportedly told police that if they made contact with the suspect, he only wanted to have the man barred from the property.