Police: Suspect tried to grab trooper's gun during arrest
A suspected drugged driver was arrested after state police say he huffed air duster in front of one trooper and later tried to grab another trooper's pistol during an incident last week in Center Township.
The defendant, Aaron M. Joyce, 44, of Slippery Rock Township is behind bars on 17 charges, including a pair of felonies.
Police said they found Joyce on Thursday behind the wheel of a minivan stopped on the side of Route 8 south near Unionville Road after they were called for a disabled motorist.
Trooper David Wellington got to the van and noticed the defendant was holding a can of air duster. “(Joyce) huffed in front of me,” trooper said in his affidavit.
The suspect refused to get out of the van and then allegedly tried to start the vehicle and drive away. Wellington reached into the van for the keys, touching off a brief struggle.
The trooper managed to take the keys and he waited for backup officers to arrive.
But during the wait, police said, Joyce “was huffing the air duster the entire time.”
The defendant still refused to come out of the vehicle after the other officers arrived, police said. It subsequently took several troopers to pull him out.
Once out of the van, however, he allegedly continued to resist, police said.
“(He) refused to be cuffed and at one point grabbed onto (a trooper) and attempted to grab (the trooper's) weapon,” the affidavit said. “During the struggle the magazine ejected from the (trooper's) service weapon.”
Eventually, police arrested Joyce. He was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for evaluation and for a blood draw. Toxicology results are pending.
On Friday, District Judge Kevin O'Donnell arraigned Joyce on felony charges of aggravated assault and disarming a law enforcement officer.
He also was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of simple assault, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and fleeing or attempting to elude police.
Additionally, he is charged with summary harassment and several traffic violations. He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bond following arraignment.
Joyce's preliminary hearing is set March 31 at the office of District Judge Lewis Stoughton in Chicora. Online court records did not list an attorney for him.
