A man in the USA has been arrested after he allegedly licked a child trick-or-treater’s ear, and then followed her home, where he pulled a gun on her mother.
Cedrick Paines, 66, from the area of Severn, in the USA state of Maryland, faces multiple charges, including first-degree assault and weapons violations, after the incident on Tuesday, 31st October.
Paines’ arrest followed after he reportedly licked a little girl’s ear while she was trick-or-treating at his residence in the 8200 block of Dunfield Court.
Police who were alerted to the case at around 6.20pm the same evening, said that the frightened child ran home as the 66-year-old suspect followed her and attempted to enter the house.
When he failed to enter as the girl’s mum pushed him back, police said he pulled a handgun from his waistband, loaded it, and pointed it at the woman before pulling the trigger.
The scene was also confirmed by a passerby, media said.
However, the gun did not fire, and Paines went back to his home where he was caught by responding officers and apprehended.
When questioned he said he did not touch the girl’s ear but admitted he got close to it. He claimed he attempted to prank the girl the same way he jokes around with his grandchildren by biting their fingers.
Anne Arundel County Police said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “A search warrant of the residence was executed and resulted in the seizure of two handguns, one [12-gauge] shotgun, a .22 caliber rifle, and ammunition.”
The Maryland Gun Center confirmed that Paines is not prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
Pains was released on a USD 5,000 (GBP 4,090) bond and is currently in home custody.
When asked if he nibbled the girl’s ear he added: “No, let me tell you something, she was sitting right there and I was sitting here.
“And she got up, and I said ‘Bo!’, so she ran over there, [and] I ran over there.
“And I was going to tell her mother I didn’t do nothing. I didn’t touch her, you know?”
He added: “I want to make something clear, I didn’t point a gun on nobody, I know better than that!”
Paines is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, 29th November.
