BELFAST – Authorities had their hands full Monday with a Burnham man who allegedly stole a vehicle, trashed his wife’s home, killed her kitten, head-butted and pepper-sprayed a deputy, and raised a ruckus at the Waldo County Jail.

Chief Deputy Bob Keating said jail guards still were dealing with a confrontational Jack Parker Jr., 26, hours after his arrest.

“He has been creating problems at the jail,” Keating said.

The Sheriff’s Department encountered Parker when a Troy Road resident in Burnham called to report the theft of a 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck.

Deputies Matt Curtis and Dale Brown went to the scene in separate cars shortly before 1:30 a.m.

When Curtis arrived, he noticed a truck matching the description of the stolen vehicle in the driveway of a mobile home. The home’s lights were on. When Curtis saw a male moving rapidly from room to room, he pulled into the driveway to investigate.

Just as Curtis stepped from his cruiser, the man left the trailer and started walking toward the deputy, Keating said. The man had his left hand hidden behind his back. When Curtis ordered the man to show his hands, the man suddenly charged and hit Curtis with a blast of pepper spray.

“He then ran to the truck and tried to take off, but Matt composed himself enough to get back in his cruiser and pinch him in so he couldn’t get away on the highway,” Keating said. “He tried to get around Matt, but the truck got stuck in the yard.”

The man then jumped from the truck and ran into nearby woods. Deputy Brown arrived a short time later. After the deputies called for assistance and a tracking dog, the officers checked out the home. Keating said they discovered that the trailer had been ransacked and a black-and-white kitten inside apparently had been killed.

Parker and his wife are separated, Keating said, “and he was supposed to come by to get his belongings while she was gone. He apparently trashed the trailer instead. Almost everything in there was broken,” Keating said. “We also think he killed the cat.”

After Maine State Police Trooper Greg Stevens arrived with a tracking dog, Stevens and Curtis found Parker about 3:30 a.m. in woods 100 yards behind the trailer. Parker appeared cooperative once he was discovered, but suddenly head-butted Curtis in the mouth when the deputy tried to place him in handcuffs. Curtis suffered a split upper lip. Parker also suffered minor cuts and scratches from vegetation while struggling with the officers.

Curtis and Parker were checked out by Clinton Ambulance personnel, but did not require hospitalization.

Parker was taken to the Waldo County Jail, where, Keating said, he continued to exhibit assaultive behavior.

He was charged with two counts of assault on a police officer, aggravated criminal mischief for the vandalizing of the trailer, unauthorized use of property, and refusing to submit to arrest or detention. Keating said he expects additional charges.

Keating said Parker has been on probation for a February assault conviction in Skowhegan for which he was sentenced to 364 days in jail with all but 60 days suspended, one year of probation and participation in domestic violence counseling.

Before moving to Maine in 2000, Parker had been convicted of two felonious assaults in Ohio. He also had a drunken driving conviction in Newport in 2000 and an assault conviction in Dover-Foxcroft in 2003.