Medical officer faces criminal complaint

Accused of vandalism at Pelican Bay

A misdemeanor  criminal complaint has been filed against the chief medical officer at Pelican Bay State Prison, accusing him of vandalizing a coworker’s car that was parked in his designated space.

Michael C. Sayre, 64, is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 9 for the charge of “damaging part of a vehicle” filed by District Attorney  Jon Alexander.

In June, Sayre allegedly tampered with a correctional sergeant’s 2004 BMW sedan by pointing the windshield wipers’ upward, twisting the rearview mirrors around and piling “two handfuls” of small rocks on the hood, a Del Norte County sheriff’s deputy report stated.

A correctional officer later overheard Sayre fulminating about a car being in his spot prompting the officer to go inspect the vehicle, the report said.

Sayre was overheard saying “words to the effect of ‘That’s okay; I left a nasty little message on the car,’” said the report.

When the correctional officer went out to the BMW, he found the note Sayre left, which read “The next time you park here, I key the hell out of it,” the report said.

The BMW’s owner surveyed the damages after her shift and found there were scratches in the paint on the passenger door, hood and trunk, the report said. There were also chips of paint gouged on the right side of the car, the report said.

An auto shop estimated the cost of repairing the damages at $2,600, the report stated.

A surveillance video captured Sayre tampering with the car and  walking around it, the report said.

Sayre confirmed he altered the wipers and mirrors, placed rocks on the hood and left the note, but said he had been careful to not damage the BMW, the report said.

“We tend to associate this type of sophomoric behavior with the Level 1 inmates on the other side of the walls,” said Alexander.

Sayre was unavailable for comment, a prison spokesman said.