Man Gets 60 Days for Phone Store Rampage

Link : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041019/ap_on_fe_st/phone_rampage&e=5

FARGO, N.D. - A man who stripped to the waist, put on safety goggles and tore up a Verizon Wireless store after complaining of bad phone service has been sentenced to 60 days in jail.



Jason Perala, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor assault in the rampage the company said cost it more than $20,000 in broken equipment and lost sales.


The 5-foot-11, 200-pound former college wrestler said he had intended to only scream at the store workers, but when he tried to throw his cell phone against a wall, it hit a worker in the shoulder.


He continued to destroy merchandise for several minutes while workers locked themselves in an office.


The judge also sentenced Perala, of Fargo, to one year of supervised probation and $1,200 of restitution.


"I want to apologize; I'm sorry," Perala said after his sentencing. "I gotta change my ways a little bit."


Perala, who before the May incident had no criminal record, was arrested three more times during the summer on charges relating to disorderly conduct. He received fines, unsupervised probation and suspended jail sentences in those cases.