Cops: Evicted man arrested after return to Old Bethpage campground

Nassau County police arrested an Old Bethpage man on Saturday after authorities said he drove through an Old Bethpage campground after being evicted months ago.

Police said they received a call at 11 a.m. reporting a man with a gun at the Battle Row campground. When police arrived, a man, 46, told police that he had been threatened repeatedly by Francis Searles, 57, who had been seen driving through the campground that day despite being told by the campground's manager not to return after his eviction several months before.

Police found Searles several hours later on Chicago Avenue in Massapequa, where they arrested him.

A gun was not found, but police said Searles had cocaine with him. Searles was charged with third-degree menacing, trespassing and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

At his arraignment on Sunday at First District Court in Hempstead, Searles was ordered held on $500 cash bail or $1,000 bond. He is due back in court on Wednesday.