Phillip DeClemente accused of stealing patient contact info from pediatrician

Phillip DeClemente, the man best known for shutting down traffic on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in February 2012 with cryptic messages painted on the side of his SUV, is now being accused of stealing blankets and patient information from a West Ashley pediatrician’s office, according to an incident report filed with the Charleston Police Department.

On Monday at about 3:20 p.m., a police officer responded to Parkwood Pediatrics on Savannah Highway in response to a reported theft. An employee at the office told the officer that 10 minutes prior, DeClemente had entered through the front door, walked to a back room, and taken two biliblankets, specialized blankets for treating neonatal jaundice that the employee estimated were worth $700 apiece. The employee said DeClemente also took a binder containing the personal information of current patients, including their addresses and contact information. When employees tried to stop him, DeClemente reportedly said, “I own this company, this is my equipment.”

The complainant said that DeClemente used to work for NebDoctors, a company that used to fix medical equipment at Parkwood Pediatrics, but that the company fired him after one of his run-ins with police. Before coming to the West Ashley office, DeClemente also reportedly went to Parkwood Pediatrics’ Daniel Island office and took a piece of paper containing patient information.

Following the February 2012 incident in which he staged a two-hour standoff with police, DeClemente spent 30 days in psychiatric care and told The Post and Courier he had blocked traffic on the bridge to expose a former business partner’s smear campaign against him. He shut down traffic on the bridge again on Jan. 31, 2014, after police received a report that DeClemente had threatened his former business partner. Most recently, on Oct. 5, DeClemente was arrested in Maggie Valley, N.C., on an escape warrant after allegedly violating the terms of his release, which included a requirement that he wear a GPS tracking device on his ankle.

According to a police spokesman, DeClemente has not been arrested in connection with the Monday incident.