A local transient with a history of alcohol-related arrests was taken into custody Thursday evening after allegedly making a drunken spectacle of himself downtown, including disrobing in front of children, according to court documents.
Maurice McCormack, 46, “was intoxicated and staggering when walking, dancing and contacting citizens on the (Hyman Avenue Mall)” and the area surrounding the fountain across from the Wheeler Opera House, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Pitkin County District Court.
The manager of Mr. Grey restaurant told police McCormack chased away his patrons and continued to smoke cigarettes and drink beer after having been asked to leave, the affidavit states.
Later, a Bosq restaurant employee reported that McCormack “was undressing … in front of the restaurant and at the children’s park at Wagner Park,” according to the affidavit. “McCormack was doing this when children were present.”
Three teenage boys told police McCormack was trying to start fights with people on the mall, the affidavit states.
Finally, two 15-year-old girls and a 14-year-old girl told officers that McCormack asked them for money to “buy a joint,” according to the document.
“McCormack said, ‘If you give me money, I’ll share the joint with you,’” the girls told officers, according to the affidavit.
McCormack, who has been repeatedly banned from City Market for theft, was arrested and charged with three felony counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.