‘Chicken Man’ Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Broome County Court

A Florida man, accused of crashing a stolen car in Broome County, jumping into the back of an unsuspecting motorist’s pickup truck and running through a Kirkwood neighborhood, killing chickens last month, is pleading not guilty to numerous charges.

25-year-old John Mehne of Sarasota appeared July 17 before a Broome County Grand Jury to answer to charges filled in the June 4^th incident.

Authorities accuse Mehne of driving into Broome County with the stolen Audi, which crashed on Interstate 81 in Kirkwood near the Pennsylvania line.  Officials say the man tried, unsuccessfully, to get into a van that had slowed in traffic for the crash then jumped into the back of the pickup before he allegedly took off on foot, stole an all terrain vehicle, chased the ATV owner with an ax, killed chickens and then turned up naked in the Broome County Historian’s chicken coop before being nipped by a police dog and arrested.

He’s been charged with felony grand larceny and misdemeanor menacing but could be indicted more counts associated with the on-going investigation.
Mehne, who reportedly has ties to the Ithaca area, remains in the Broome County Jail.