News

Douglas man arrested for allegedly threatening town official over potholes

DOUGLAS, Mass. — For Paul Keddy, Perry Street is the road to hell.

The unpaved road to Keddy's Douglas home is littered with potholes; prompting him to make an angry call to the highway department.

"I asked them 100 times to come fix it," said Keddy.

Highway Superintendent John Furno suggested Keddy call Town Administrator Matthew Wojcik with his concerns.

"It was swear words and he was very upset," said Furno. "He told me, if I go down to speak to him, I will *expletive expletive* kill him, so I immediately called the police department."

According to court records, Keddy also left an expletive laden message on Wojcik's voicemail, saying, 'Yeah, you *expletive expletive*. You won't fill in the potholes on Perry Street, you're going to get yours you piece of *expletive*.'

"We don't have the luxury to be able to do repairs on private property," said Wojcik.

Wojcik says Perry Street is a private way and the town spreads gravel to make it passable for emergency vehicles, but ultimately, it's up to the homeowners to pay for repairs.

"How you gonna keep telling me it’s private, it’s private blah blah. What kind of *expletive* is that? That’s *expletive*," said Keddy.

Keddy was arrested for threatening a town leader, but even with the criminal charge, he says he's prepared to keep fighting.

"If you lived here, you would probably wanna say a few more things than that, right?," said Keddy.

Court records Boston 25 News obtained show Keddy's extensive criminal history; including entries of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault on a police officer. That's why town officials say they took his threat so seriously.

Keddy says there was never any real threat of violence.

He's due back in court on March 20.