In a quiet neighborhood in the middle of the night, a Linton man accused of yelling and screaming and proclaiming his right to free speech, wound up getting a free ride to jail.

Mitchell Dylan Douglas Piker, 24, of Linton, was arrested by Officer Orry Phipps of the Linton Police Department on Saturday, July 20.

Officer Phipps responded after a woman called the police department around 2:30 a.m. and said Piker was at a neighbor’s house screaming and yelling.

When Officer Phipps arrived in the area, he located Piker who said he was walking his dog when the neighbor started yelling at him. When the officer asked Piker what the neighbor was yelling at him about, Piker allegedly started screaming and yelling at Officer Phipps and LPD Officer Cody Burris who also responded to assist. Piker said he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Phipps asked him to keep his voice down and quit yelling but reported that Piker continued to yell and said multiple times that he had freedom of speech and he was going to use it.

When Phipps talked to the neighbor, she said she had gone outside to take care of her cats when Piker walked by and started yelling at her. She said she told him to be quiet and not come on her property while he continued to yell.

When Officer Phipps returned to speak to Piker again, Piker started yelling again, Phipps warned him to quiet down again, to no avail, and Piker allegedly said, “F--- you pig, I have freedom of speech and can talk how I want to.”

Piker was transported to the Greene County Jail where he was booked in around 3:50 a.m. with bond set at $500 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $50 cash and was released later the same day.

Piker is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court next Thursday for an initial hearing on a preliminary charge of disorderly conduct involving unreasonable noise, a Class B misdemeanor.