LYNN – A Revere man who believed his EBT card had been stolen, allegedly kicked in a glass door and later smashed a pay phone at the police department after he realized the card was in his pocket.John Henry O’Neal, 59, of 25 Whitten Ave., was charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property over $250 and was arraigned Tuesday by Judge Albert Conlon at Lynn District Court. O’Neal was released on personal recognizance and has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Nov. 9.Around 10 p.m., Lynn Police responded to a report that a man had kicked out a glass door on Washington Street and was walking toward the police department. The caller gave a description of the suspect, O’Neal, who police spotted in the area of 224 Washington St.Another officer responded to the scene, where he found the glass security door, which needs a key to be entered, was broken, with the lower portion of the door completely smashed out and the glass pushed forward.The 40-year-old witness identified O’Neal as the alleged person who destroyed the door after officers drove her to the area where he was being held. She told police that at the time of the incident, she had been walking back from the Dito’s Corner Store when she encountered several people sitting on the front steps of her building. One of the people, O’Neal, allegedly began yelling at another woman that he wanted his EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card back.The victim said O’Neal continued to yell at the woman as she walked into the building. At some point, the victim said the woman walked into the building and O’Neal followed her, but was unable to get inside because the door was locked.O’Neal was said to have pressed all of the buzzers inside the entryway and continued to yell about his EBT card. After a few minutes, O’Neal allegedly began to kick at the glass door, eventually breaking through the glass before leaving the area.When police stopped O’Neal, he denied kicking in the door, but admitted that he was at the residence because he was looking for his EBT card. During the booking process, police located the card in his right front pants pocket. O’Neal was later allowed to make a phone call in the front lobby to arrange for bail money.However, police say after O’Neal tried several times to make a phone call, he slammed the receiver end of the phone onto a stainless steel shelf, causing the cap on the end of the phone to break off. Police say the phone was rendered inoperable, resulting in $251 in damages. Damages to the door were said to be $500.
