VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — A man who was held for court Tuesday on charges from an alleged attack on several UPMC employees is also facing arraignment on Wednesday on charges related to a scuffle with state troopers and a corrections officer at the Venango County Jail.
According to court documents, the following charges against 31-year-old Justin George Lagarenne, of Honesdale, PA, were held for court on Wednesday, October 16:
– Aggravated Assault, Felony 2 (six counts)
The charges stem from an incident that occurred at UPMC Northwest recently.
According to a criminal complaint, on October 13, Trooper Cirell, of the Franklin-based State Police, was dispatched to the Behavioral Health Unit at UMPC Northwest where he spoke to an employee who related that he and two other employees were physically assaulted by Justin George Lagarenne.
The employee reported that Lagarenne lunged at an RN, grabbed her, and began to push her. The employee then attempted to intervene, and Lagarenne struck the employee in the head and back multiple times and also dug his fingernails into the employee’s arm and neck. A second RN then attempted to pull Lagarenne off the employee and was allegedly struck in the mouth, according to the complaint.
When Lagarenne was taken into custody, he stated that he “assaulted” the employee because he felt the employee had “provoked” him, the complaint states.
Lagarenne was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey at 6:45 p.m. on October 13.
Unable to post $15,000.00 monetary bail, he remains lodged in the Venango County Jail.
New Charges Filed Against Lagarenne
According to court documents, Lagarenne faces another arraignment at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 17, on the following charges:
– Aggravated Assault, Felony 2 (two counts)
– Simple Assault, Misdemeanor 2 (two counts)
The new charges stem from an incident that occurred following Lagarenne’s October 13 arraignment.
According to a criminal complaint, after the arraignment, Lagarenne was transported to the Venango County Jail. He was seated on a prisoner bench in the booking/receiving area while Troopers Owens and Cirell were filling out his intake paperwork.
According to the complaint, Lagarenne stood up, clenched his fists, and approached the troopers, swinging at them multiple times. The troopers immediately took Lagarenne to the floor, with the help of the on duty corrections officer, and he was then handcuffed and shackled again.
The complaint notes that during the incident, Lt. Williams of the Venango County Jail deployed OC/pepper spray toward Lagarenne, which also contaminated the troopers and the involved corrections officer. They required decontamination at the jail medical office as well as further decontamination of their eyes and skin at UPMC Northwest Emergency Room.
