Not quite the whole storyâŚ
From what I have seen the police were called because he was banging on somebodyâs door (he wasnât just on his porch minding his own beeswax).
via the Wayback:
According to the criminal complaint: Police investigated a man banging on a house door on Mill Street at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Thomas was confronted on the porch and yelled a racial slur at the officer. Thomas allegedly threw a spider at the officer and spat in the officer's face, the complaint says. Police allege in the complaint Thomas resisted arrest and had to be stunned several times by a Taser. Several officers were needed to handcuff Thomas. Thomas continued to struggle with officers kicking at paramedics and officers at Pittston Police Headquarters, according to the complaint.Man throws spider at police officer
Well, itâs good to know that simple arachnid-tossing one wonât get one that kind of sentence. Then again, it didnât surprise me when I thought it was the case. US laws are a tad draconian these daysâŚ
Just how big and hairy and fangy was this spider? Thatâs critical info I donât see anywhere.
If someone threw a spider on me, Iâd want them locked away too. Aggravated assault indeed. Possibly torture.
Thomas told the officer, âLook at my bug,â and threw a spider at the officer,
Correct me if i am wrong in my biology but i think they should put him in jail for not knowing that spiders are arthropods not a true âbugâ Hemiptera
He must be one of those Mirriam-Webster guys.
bug (noun) 1a: an insect or other creeping or crawling invertebrate (as a spider or centipede)
So the cops, NSA and everybody can bug our phones, computers, homes but we are not allowed to bug them. No Fair!
More seriously, what stood out to me was that he got credit for 390 days time served. Meaning he spent over a year in jail before being tried.
If the rule was (as it used to be in Canada, pre-Harper) that you got two days credit for every day spend in lockup before trial, cases like this would be tried more promptly.
ahhhh, a real spider and not, well⌠reminded me of that scene from Silence of the Lambs.
.âterroristâ
Jail for throwing a spider at someone? In Australia thatâs how we say hello.
Only the small ones, though, You wouldnât throw a huntsman at someone. Well, not unless theyâre a really good mate.
No, the huntsman spider scares his mates by throwing you.
Hey donât get all contexty - this is BoingBoing. It was a tiny spider and heâs getting the death penalty. Twice.
Poor spider.
ď¸
Does whatever a spider can.
The voice actually belonged to the spider itself, who was being terrified by the man on the porch. The spider was crying for help and not taunting the police when it threw itself in their direction and screamed âCaaatch meeeee!â
Lightweigts. Where I grew up in Sydney, you threw funnel webs at your mates. Huntsmen where for throwing at girls! 
The judge figured since it was an offense against a Law Man there was about zero choice heâd get off, so he may as well start serving it.
