MEXICO — A Dixfield man remained in protective custody Thursday evening after assaulting a person and damaging property on Holman Avenue, police Chief Roy Hodsdon said.

Hodsdon described the incident as “pure mayhem.”

Vance Billings, 38, is charged with one count of disorderly conduct, three counts of criminal mischief, one count of assault and one count of refusing to submit to arrest and detention, the chief said. 

Billings was in protective custody at Rumford Hospital as of Thursday evening, he  said.

The incident began at around 6:34 p.m. Wednesday and officers responded to a report of a large brawl.

“Upon arriving, officer Rob Drouin found a male standing in the middle of the street with his shirt off, yelling at the top of his lungs,” Hodsdon said. “A large group of people were standing and pointing around him, saying that he was the problem.”

Hodsdon said officers soon learned Billings had been “wreaking havoc” across the area.

“We found out later that Billings had assaulted at least two people, had knocked kids off their bikes, ripped a spoiler off of a car and pushed another boy off his dirt bike,” Hodsdon said. “He punched at least one person in the face, just above the eye. There wasn’t actually a brawl. It was just a group of people who were trying to keep him away from their kids and property.”

Drouin ordered Billings multiple times to stop and get on the ground.

“Billings remained noncompliant, and when officers attempted to get him to subdue, that’s when he took off running toward the construction crews on Main Street,” Hodsdon said. “He climbed into the back of a construction truck and threw a generator to the ground, which spilled gas everywhere.”

Billings jumped onto the side of a passerby’s vehicle and continued to resist arrest, the chief said.

“At this point, Sgt. Doug Maifeld and officer Matt Desroches with the Rumford Police Department arrived and were able to wrestle him to the ground,” Hodsdon said. “That was after six different incidents where he told him to stop.”

He said Billings was confirmed to be under the influence of alcohol and was placed in protective custody.

The Fire Department cleaned up the spilled gasoline from the generator.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com