WINCHESTER -- William E. "Billy" Clay Jr. apparently has an unquenchable appetite for carburetor cleaner.The 30-year-old Randolph County man -- listed in court documents as living in recent years under a Winchester bridge and at a campsite in the Lynn Municipal Dump -- was most recently arrested this week after an acquaintance complained that Clay was "huffing" in his apartment's bathroom.
Winchester police reported finding Clay inhaling fumes from one of his socks, which he had filled with carburetor cleaner. A probable cause affidavit described the defendant as making one final, desperate bid to breathe in the vapors before an officer yanked the wet sock from his hand.
It marks at least the fifth time Clay has been arrested in Randolph County since 2000 for inhaling carburetor cleaner. The resulting criminal charge -- until recently defined under state law as "glue sniffing," regardless of the substance involved -- is now known as inhaling toxic vapors, a Class B misdemeanor carrying a maximum 180-day jail term.
Carburetor cleaner contains toluene, the inhalation of which can have intoxicating effects. It has also been reported to cause neurological and other health-related problems and, in extreme cases, death.
A sixth arrest, last November, also stemmed from Clay's alleged "huffing." In that still pending case, he is charged with battery, accused of knocking down a female friend who was trying to keep a can of carburetor cleaner away from him.
A trial in that case is set for June 18 in Randolph Superior Court.
An initial hearing in Clay's latest criminal case is set for 1 p.m. Monday, also in Randolph Superior Court. He was being held Thursday in the Randolph County jail under a $1,000 bond.
BONUS BITCHES: Time line of William E. "Billy" Clay Jr.'s carb cleaner history
September 2000 -- William E. "Billy" Clay Jr. is arrested after his girlfriend's mother reports he is "huffing" carburetor cleaner in a Winchester apartment. In February 2001, he pleads guilty to a charge then known as glue sniffing, and draws a 60-day suspended sentence. He later is returned to jail for probation violations.
November 2000 -- A woman reports two men living under a bridge in the 700 block of East Short Street in Winchester have started a bonfire. Police report finding Clay and another man "huffing" carburetor cleaner. Clay escapes on foot. In February 2001, he pleads guilty to resisting law enforcement, while a glue-sniffing count is dismissed. Clay receives a one-year suspended prison term.
March 2001 -- Winchester police investigate a hit-and-run accident and determine Clay, a passenger in the car, was "huffing" carburetor cleaner at the time of the crash. He pleads guilty to glue sniffing in April 2001 and receives a 180-day jail term.
July 2001 -- Children report Clay, then living at a campsite at the Lynn Municipal Dump, has been seen "huffing" paint and carburetor cleaner. Witnesses say he poured the substances into a sock that he then placed over his nose and mouth. He pleads guilty to glue sniffing in September 2001 and receives a 180-day jail term.
November 2009 -- A Winchester woman reports that Clay, her new boyfriend, pushed her down, causing facial injuries, during an argument over his "huffing" that saw her try to keep a can of carburetor cleaner away from him. He is set to stand trial June 18 on a charge of battery resulting in bodily injury.
March 2010 -- Clay is arrested in a Winchester apartment after one of its occupants tells police Clay is "huffing" carburetor cleaner in a bathroom.
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