Pgh. man accused of assault on officer
CRANBERRY TWP — A young Pittsburgh man jailed on six-figure bail is accused of assaulting a police officer with handcuffs attached to one of his wrists.
Charles C. Groom III, 19, is facing felony assault and other charges stemming from the weekend incident that left Cranberry Township Detective Sgt. Matthew Irvin in need of hospital treatment.
Groom is in Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail.
Police said that a noise complaint about 10 p.m. Saturday led them to an apartment in Trenton Court, where they believe an underage drinking party was being held.
The defendant was spotted nearby with two other males, in a laundry room.
He appeared intoxicated, according to court documents, and police spotted him throwing a bag into a sink. The bag allegedly contained Xanax pills.
Irvin moved in to arrest Groom and place handcuffs on him. The officer got one of the cuffs on Groom's right wrist.
But the suspect became “combative,” a police affidavit said, and resisted arrest. Groom is accused of swinging his right arm, which still had the handcuffs attached. The cuffs hit Irvin on the left temple.
The officer suffered a cut above the eye. Police Sgt. Chuck Mascellino said Irvin eventually received treatment at UPMC Passavant hospital in the township but he remains on duty.The defendant took off running with Irvin giving chase. The officer deployed his Taser but to no avail. He eventually tackled and arrested the suspect.District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned Groom on a felony charge of aggravated assault, and misdemeanor charges of corruption of minors and possession of a controlled substance.He also is charged with summary counts of underage drinking and public drunkenness.Police said they suspect Groom and Marcos I. Baldeo, 25, were hosting the party at Baldeo's Trenton Court apartment.When officers got into the apartment, court documents said, they noticed drug contraband and bottles and cans of alcohol, both full and empty.The suspected contraband included two bongs and three drug-smoking pipes.Baldeo was arraigned on charges of corruption of minors, furnishing alcohol to minors and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was placed in the county prison on $30,000 bail following arraignment.Court records showed Baldeo already has three unrelated cases pending in Butler County. In one of those cases, he is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence in Cranberry Township.He is charged in another case with resisting arrest and possessing a spring-assisted pocket knife in Zelienople.
