FLEMINGTON — A borough man hoped that an act of vandalism would land him in jail, which he regarded as preferable to his apartment, according to police.

Around 7:21 p.m. on July 29, Patrolman Brian McNally was sent to the Old Egg Auction office complex on Park Avenue on a report that a man with a large stick had smashed a statue at the entrance.

When he found James P. Yale, 53, he allegedly yelled to him, "McNally, I want to go back to jail." When the patrolman interviewed him, Yale told him he had used his Philippine fighting stick to chop the head off the concrete rooster statue in front of the Old Egg Auction because the air conditioning and cable TV had been turned off in his Hunter Hills apartment and he couldn't live like an animal any more, police said.

Lt. Jerry Rotella found the rooster's head lying in the street and took it into custody while Yale was charged with criminal mischief.

The jail happens to be practically across the street from the Old Egg Auction. But criminal mischief incurring less than $500 in damage is just a misdemeanor and not a jailing offense, said Detective Sgt. William Svard.

Although no value of the damage had been given by Old Egg Auction authorities, it looks like the rooster smashing fell short of the mark.

Police delivered the rooster's head to Old Egg Auction management yesterday and it was promptly glued back in place.

That is not the first time a rooster statue has come to grief there. A larger, steel rooster was stolen from that site in April of 2011.

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