Troubled man held in fire at Salem golf course

By Julie Manganis
Staff writer

May 17, 2008 05:32 am

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SALEM — First, he dialed 911 from a grocery store pay phone, then ran down the street in his socks. Then, the next day, he was found wandering the halls of an office building. And then, early Thursday, he was found standing in the middle of Route 114 feeding birds from a bag of doughnuts.

After a week of odd behavior, Philip Grieves took it to a new level, police say, setting a fire near the 15th hole green at the Kernwood Country Club on Thursday afternoon. Now he's being held without bail, charged with vandalism, trespassing and burning personal property.

The fire, which was extinguished by firefighters, spread into the nearby marsh. Firefighters feared it would spread toward the nearby Bates Elementary School.

Grieves, 35, was spotted near the area where the fire started by a club employee, who chased him up the 13th fairway while the manager called 911.

When police caught up with him, Grieves dropped to his knees and proclaimed, "The fire, it was God's work." He then blamed it on a cigarette.

Earlier Thursday, around 4:30 a.m., he had been found standing in the middle of North Street with the bag of doughnuts, feeding birds. He told the officer "he was doing God's work," according to a police report, then offered a doughnut to the patrolman, who declined the offer and sent him on his way, recommending he stay on the sidewalk.

On Wednesday afternoon, he was placed into protective custody by police after being found wandering the hallways of a building on Front Street.

And on Tuesday evening, police responding to Grieves' 911 call from a pay phone at Steve's Quality Market found him running down Margin Street, "highly intoxicated," and wearing socks with no shoes. He was also put in protective custody.

During his appearance in Salem District Court, Grieves sat with his eyes closed, his head tilted back and his palms outstretched.

Despite his erratic behavior, he was not sent to a hospital for evaluation. Instead, he'll be held at Middleton Jail until a hearing on June 4 to determine whether he poses a danger to the public if released.