Akron law enforcement no longer has an ax to grind against horror artist Bill Morrison.
On Monday, city prosecutors fell on their sword, dismissing their criminal case and burying the hatchet with Morrison, who was arrested and jailed in October on a charge of inducing panic.
His crime: scaring a woman who saw him carrying a Halloween prop ax into an Akron bar.
Since being questioned about the case by the Beacon Journal, city Prosecutor Doug Powley said he reviewed the facts and the law and determined the “situation did not warrant a criminal conviction.” He filed papers Monday afternoon dismissing the case in Akron Municipal Court.
Morrison, who was facing six months in jail if convicted, said he was relieved by the news.
“If I had been standing, I might have passed out,” he said Monday.
Morrison was arrested Oct. 16 outside Corky’s Thomastown bar near South Arlington Street and Triplett Boulevard after a woman saw him carrying a “bloody ax” into the bar.
She called 911 and told a dispatcher that a man with long, brown hair and wearing a dark green trench coat just entered the bar with “a full, long ax.”
Two Akron patrolmen responded and found Morrison and his ax. While the ax looked real, with a wooden handle and silver head, Morrison, a locally famous Halloween makeup and special-effects artist, showed the officers it was a prop, with fake blood and a rubber blade.
Despite the explanation, the officers charged, handcuffed and took Morrison to jail on a charge of inducing panic, a misdemeanor. At first, he thought it was a joke.
“I just couldn’t believe it. I just kept saying to myself in the back of the paddy wagon, ‘This isn’t right. This isn’t right,’ ” he said. “I just figured they’d give the ax back and I’d be on my way.”
He was released on a signature bond the following day.
“It was probably the most horrible night of my life,” he said.
Morrison, 42, knows a thing or two about horror.
Since the 1970s, he has designed haunted houses in Akron and worked in Hollywood as a makeup artist. He told police he was taking the ax to the bar to sell it to a friend. The friend didn’t show, and Morrison was walking from the bar when police stopped him.
The case was pending in court for more than a month. His attorney, Edward Sawan, already had filed a motion to dismiss the charge. Judge Tom McCarty had yet to rule. A hearing was scheduled in January.
Powley said that while the circumstances do not warrant a criminal charge, he can understand why the woman called 911 and why the police took the incident seriously.
“The ax was so realistic, it’s not something you should be walking into stores with,” he said. “You just don’t walk around at night with something so realistic without causing people to be afraid.
“There have been too many tragedies in our country, too many students, too many workers that end up being victims of mass murderers. It’s not funny when it’s real. And if it looks real, it’s not funny.”
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.