SAN DIEGO A two-year term in state prison was handed down on Nov. 19 to the man who brought an axe into a Pacific Beach library and used it to chop up books, furniture, and computer equipment. No one was injured. A judge ordered William John Hanley, 54, to pay for the damages, but the amount will be set in a future hearing in San Diego Superior Court. A status hearing for the restitution was set for Jan. 20, 2026. The May 8 incident at the Pacific Beach/Taylor Library was bizarre, but Hanley deliberately only attacked books and equipment, with injuries to no one other than psychological harm. People moved out of his way and he seemed determined to hack at the property without giving an explanation. He refused to put down the axe after he left the library that day, however, and an officer shot him twice outside, in the 4300 block of Dawes Street in Pacific Beach. San Diego Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring denied probation and gave him credit for spending 191 days in jail. He fined him $370. Hanley pleaded guilty to exhibiting a weapon in a threatening manner. The other charges Hanley faced were dismissed; they included assault on a police officer, felony vandalism, and exhibiting an axe to a police officer.
https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2025/11/24/man-with-axe-in-pb-library-gets-two-years-prison-time/
Man with axe in Pacific Beach library gets two years prison time
