The founder of Signal Mountain Farm, arrested last month for allegedly kicking a woman's door in and threatening her, has been arrested a second time after reportedly sending harassing text messages to a second woman.
The woman reported the threatening text messages - sent to her by Thomas Hendricks O'Neal - to police because of O'Neal's history of abuse, she told officers.
O'Neal, who has been released after posting bail, did not return a request for comment.
The woman told police she hadn't been in contact with O'Neal, 39, for years and didn't have his number saved in her contacts. But, she told police, she immediately knew it was him when she received a string of intimidating text messages.
He used language such as, "f-- you, horrible whore, and liar," police noted in the arrest affidavit.
The woman told police that she knew from experience that O'Neal's behavior via text messages could quickly turn into him arriving at her door.
Because of that, she filed a petition for a temporary order of protection against O'Neal, but it was denied.
"The court finds there is no immediate and present danger of abuse," the denial form reads. A hearing is set for later this month.
In an affidavit attached to the petition for the judge to consider, the woman said she had seen a news report about O'Neal's recent arrest, and she believed his text messages were intended to scare her so that she wouldn't speak openly about the abuse he inflicted upon her several years ago.
On two separate occasions, she wrote, he made in-person threats to kill her.
"Both times he was in a maniacal rage," she wrote.
In the first case, he yelled at her, slapped her across the face and cornered her while loading a shotgun and asked her if she wanted to die.
"He stood near me while holding the gun and continuing to yell and threaten me until I was able to get out of the house," she wrote to the judge.
In the second case, he texted and called her repeatedly before showing up at her house and kicked in a locked door - the same thing for which he was arrested on Aug. 16.
At the time, the woman said, she hid in her bedroom while he overturned furniture, broke her property and eventually retrieved a butcher knife from the kitchen.
"From my hiding place I watched him carrying around the knife and repeatedly saying that he knew I was there and was going to find and kill me," she wrote.
On a separate occasion, she said, he broke open another locked door and damaged an antique dresser that had belonged to her great-aunt.
And in another incident, she said, he squared off in front of her car and banged his fists on the hood to prevent her from leaving. She also said he once damaged the ignition switch in her car to keep her from leaving.
In other incidents, he left her with bruises on her arms, she said.
Three years after she cut off contact with him he rammed himself into her back while in the lobby of an event venue, she said.
"I fell forward into some people but turned in time to see him dart away," she wrote.
"There is no reason for him to be in touch other than to upset and intimidate me," she told the judge.
The petition was denied the following day.
In the latest criminal case, O'Neal was charged with harassment and is expected to appear in court on Oct. 28. In the earlier case, he was charged with aggravated criminal trespass, vandalism and harassment and is expected in court on Oct. 6.
Contact Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.