Man’s good intentions pave his way to court

AKRON (AP) — An Ohio man says he chipped away loose material to prepare a pothole for repair and thought he was helping the city, not breaking the law.

An undercover police officer spotted 81-year-old James Stacy of Akron in the street near Stacy’s home with a pickax and a broom last week.

Stacy says he cleared the 3-foot-wide hole because he expected a crew to patch it and wanted the patch to last longer.

Public works manager Paul Barnett says he’d always like to do such cleaning.

But he says it created a greater safety hazard until the hole was patched.

Police charged Stacy with criminal damaging, saying he destroyed fresh asphalt and ignored an officer’s warning.

Stacy denies that. He is scheduled in court Tuesday and faces up to 90 days in jail.