Man accused of spitting, throwing hot coffee in AVH nurse’s face charged with felony assault

A South Greensburg man was arrested on charges that he assaulted an emergency room nurse at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison.

James Gregory Wilbur, 55, of the 1100 block of Spruce Street faces a felony count of aggravated assault along with simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment, according to court records.

Wilbur was being detained in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 1 before District Judge Carolyn Bengel.

An investigator for the Highmark Police Department wrote in a criminal complaint that hospital police were dispatched Monday to the emergency room at AVH for a patient causing a disturbance by screaming at other patients.

Hospital staff told police that when a registered nurse manager in the emergency department tried to speak to Wilbur, he became angry and spit in their face, according to a criminal complaint.

After spitting at the nurse, Wilbur threw a hot cup of coffee in their face, the complaint said.

The nurse was treated by medical staff, and Wilbur was escorted from the hospital and taken into custody, police said.

Court records show New Kensington police charged Wilbur with defiant trespass and retail theft Jan. 21.

Wilbur also is awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges of disorderly conduct, open lewdness, defiant trespass and public drunkenness filed by Allegheny County Port Authority Police on Dec. 29.

In October, Greensburg police charged Wilbur with propelling a missile into an occupied vehicle, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, simple assault and harassment, according to court records.

Preliminary hearings for all those charges filed are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 2, according to the court docket.

Wilbur pleaded guilty in 2017 to charges of defiant trespass and disorderly conduct filed by Arnold police. He was sentenced to a year in jail, court records show.