Clifford Darrell’s mugshot after his arrest for disrupting the wake of a local woman, Shelly Wilkins, whose family says they have no idea who the guy is. He’s charged with misdemeanors in the incident, and no felonies, despite allegedly brandishing a knife and saying he was going to kill the ex-husband of the deceased.
RICHLAND CO.—A bizarre incident occurring at the visitation of an Olney woman’s funeral has left an Oregon man charged only with misdemeanors, this after he allegedly threatened those in attendance with a knife.
Clifford Darrell, 51, listing an address of South Morgan Street in Olney on his bond sheet but whose license has him as a resident of Salem, Oregon, has been charged with multiple crimes after he showed up at the visitation prior to the funeral of Shelly Wilkins Stangle, 46, on the morning of Saturday, July 18.
Witnesses say that the visitation, being held at Summers-Kistler Funeral Home at 205 E. Elm in Olney, was going along peacefully until the man showed up and began flipping over pictures of Shelly, as well as those of her ex-husband, Brad Wilkins, and their child.
This disrupted the visitation, despite the fact that Darrell’s sister, Alyssa, and their mom got over to the photos where they were on display and began turning them back upright.
At about that time, Darrell is alleged to have pulled out a knife and began brandishing it directly in front of about eight to ten different people.
He then, according to witnesses, said that he was going to “stab Brad Wilkins,” Shelly’s ex.
The deceased’s brother, Kenneth Ed Lynch, approached Darrell and ushered him to the front door of the funeral home.
Getting Darrell outside, Lynch, who was still crippled up from a recent abdominal surgery, told the man to knock it off and be on his way.
Lynch said Darrell turned around, waved the knife at him, and said “I’m ex-military” in a threatening manner.
Lynch said “It don’t matter; we’re going anyway,” intent on taking the man down physically if he weren’t going to stop the erratic behavior.
Instead, Darrell turned and ran.
“So I grabbed a rock,” Lynch said, noting that there were some large rocks for landscaping outside the funeral home, “and I threw one at him trying to get him to stop running.”
By that time, a nephew had already called 911 about the disturbance at the visitation, and the police were on their way; Lynch was hoping to keep the man – whom he didn’t even know – from getting away so the police could apprehend him.
The rock struck Darrell between the shoulder blades on his back, “and you could tell it hurt him,” Lynch said, but it didn’t stop him. Instead, Darrell took off on foot, and Lynch attempted to keep up with him through Olney, despite the fact that due to his surgery, he couldn’t run.
Another Disclosure source happened to be in town and watched the matter unfold. He followed Darrell across town, where Darrell ran: Behind the Olney Police Department, up the street behind the post office, behind the law offices of John Clark, and across Main.
“I was able to watch him until the cops got him,” Lynch said, as did Disclosure’s other source on the matter.
When officers from both Olney police and Richland County secured and searched Darrell, they found a glass smoking pipe, the kind used to smoke pot.
He was toted off to the Richland County Detention Center, arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Aggravated Assault.
When it came before Richland County’s prosecutor, the formal counts were the Drug Paraphernalia, the Agg Assault (for swiping the knife at Lynch), and Disorderly Conduct for pulling the knife on Lynch.
Darrell, for all the trouble he caused, was able to bond out of RCDC with $150 on July 23, and went on his way.
The family of Shelly Wilkins is fairly upset with this…but realizes that it’s the law and the courts as it was presented, and the best was done with the evidence at hand.
Still, the entire thing was very weird…mostly because, Lynch said, “hardly anybody knew who this guy was.
“I didn’t know who he was, my nephew didn’t know who he was, my sister’s ex didn’t know who he was,” Lynch said. “We don’t know why he was there like that and we don’t know what his problem was. We don’t know what he was to Shelly.”
Darrell is next in court on August 20.