Murder Suspect Has Been in Legal Trouble Before

Mentor-on-the Lake Police Department and charged him with the .

Thomas, 26, previously was convicted of unrelated misdemeanor charges of criminal damaging, inciting violence, disorderly conduct and theft; but nothing in his criminal record portended a murder charge.

However, they do show that Thomas sometimes got into trouble when drinking.

In 2007, Thomas was charged with criminal damaging after causing a scene at a New Year's Eve party in Leroy Township.

Lake County Sheriff's deputies were called to the party after Thomas shattered the back window of a girl's car.

When deputies arrived, Thomas had small cuts on his face and arms. However, he would not cooperate when paramedics tried to help him. Officers ultimately had to handcuff him so he could be treated, according to his arrest report.

Deputies also said that Thomas was drunk.

The girl whose car Thomas damaged was 17 and pregnant at the time of the incident. She told deputies that Thomas had also stepped on her foot, shoved her and punched her in the stomach, according to the deputy's report.

However, Thomas was not charged with assault because she had no visible injuries and nobody else at the party said they saw him hit her in the stomach.

A few days later, Thomas was accused of stealing a pen set, lottery ticket, phone and Dell laptop from cars in Leroy Township.

When a deputy asked Thomas why he stole the laptop, he replied, "I really don't know. I was drunk and it sounded good," according to his arrest report.

Thomas was later convicted of theft and criminal damaging and sentenced to 45 days in Lake County Jail.

Thomas has also been charged with other crimes involving alcohol during the last seen years, including disorderly conduct, public intoxication and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

In 2003, Thomas was charged with aggravated menacing in Fairport Harbor. He was accused of pulling a knife on a pair of teenagers who had thrown snowballs at him, Fairport Harbor Police Chief Mark Kish said.

However, that charge was later dropped.

Thomas, who was arrested from a house on Oldsmar Avenue in Madison Township, will be arraigned 8 a.m. Wednesday in Mentor Municipal Court.

McSween, 49, was found murdered Nov. 26 near Mario's Lakeway Lounge on Andrews Road.

She had tended bar at Lakeway Lounge the night she was murdered. She closed the bar but never made it home.

Her body was found behind the house next to the bar at 8:39 a.m. She had been beaten, strangled and repeatedly stabbed, Lake County Deputy Coroner Dr. Mark Komar said.

Robert Sylvester, a man who lives nearby Lakeway and used to be a regular patron, said he saw Thomas at the bar on several occasions.

Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Chief Joe Doran said he would neither confirm nor deny that Thomas was at the bar the night McSween was killed.