WHEELING — The bond for Arvindbha Patel, accused of feeding animals and leaving behind litter on Wheeling Island, was revoked Friday after photos showed him allegedly on Wheeling Island again leaving dog and cat food behind.

Patel, a resident of St. Clairsville, was previously charged in two separate cases with four counts of unlawful disposal of litter on Wheeling Island, for a total of eight counts. The charges are all misdemeanors.

Part of a holding bond agreement signed by Patel prohibits him from returning to Wheeling Island.

A bond revocation hearing took place Friday before Magistrate Tom Howard.

Wheeling Island resident Lou Smith testified before the court and explained photos provided by another neighbor, Greg Bamberger. The series of photos showed Patel and Bamberger allegedly having a heated discussion on the morning of Aug. 19, and Patel appeared to be setting down a paper plate filled with dog food on the ground and leaving it.

The neighborhood has long opposed the practice, noting that the discarded food attracts many types of animals and rodents that bring with them the danger of rabies. Smith testified that while he hadn’t personally witnessed Patel on the island and again feeding animals, other neighbors had and he had seen evidence of the fact.

Patel — who appeared without an attorney — challenged Smith while he was on the witness stand and asked what he hoped to prove by the photos. Smith explained they plainly showed him placing a paper plate of animal food on the ground.

Howard then chastised Patel for “being argumentative.”

Patel responded by presenting photos of other litter situations on Wheeling Island. Ohio County Prosecutor Shawn Turak also noted that “everybody else litters on Wheeling Island” was not a justifiable defense in the case and made a motion that the evidence not be permitted.

Patel admitted to both Howard and Turak when asked that he had taken the photos recently.

“Then you admit you’ve been on Wheeling Island taking pictures. That puts you on Wheeling Island and your bond says you can’t be on Wheeling Island,” Howard said.

Howard then immediately revoked his bond.

Patel denied he was ever ordered to stay off Wheeling Island, and was again admonished by Howard for his language.

“Do what you need to do. I know this is just a game here,” Patel said.

Turak turned her laptop toward him to show him a screen copy of the bond that stated he was not to go to Wheeling Island. The document contained his signature at the bottom.

In addition to revoking Patel’s holding bond and raising its amount to $2,400, Howard added an additional charge of contempt of court and fined Patel $50.

While the original crime “was not a jailable offense,” a charge of contempt “could be,” he told Patel.

“If you are found on the Island again, you will be put in jail,” Howard continued.

Patel responded that he “would like that.”

He was further warned by Howard that he needed to stay off Wheeling Island at least until his case was finalized. If found there again, Patel could be subject to as many as 10 days in jail.

Patel told Howard he would “make his life miserable.”

“Is that a threat?” Howard asked.

“It sounds like it to me,” Turak added. Turak then ordered Patel to leave the courtroom.

This is not the first time Patel has been accused of feeding wild animals. In 2023, he was accused of feeding raccoons in the Renaissance Way neighborhood of Bethlehem. In June 2023, a temporary restraining order was issued against Patel, forbidding him to feed wild animals in that neighborhood.

In a written statement provided Friday evening to the Sunday News-Register, Patel said this case was not about litter, but a case about “the systematic weaponization of a prosecutor’s office, the constitutional infirmity of a state statute, and the fundamental right of an elderly man to be free from a targeted campaign of harassment.”

He argued that the photos presented Friday should not have been admitted because they were not “captured by sworn officers of the law acting in their official capacity. They were captured by private actors … acting as agents and instruments” of the county prosecutor’s office. He also included a motion to recuse the Ohio County Prosecutor’s Office from the case and requested a special prosecutor.