Hempfield man guilty of assault against first responders

A Hempfield man was convicted Thursday of aggravated assaults against two first responders as they attempted to treat and transport him to a local hospital for a stomach ailment.

Westmoreland County prosecutors said Anthony Michael Flowers, 33, spit on two emergency medical technicians, threatened additional violence and to bomb a Westmoreland hospital. They said he also destroyed equipment in the back of ambulance after EMTs responded Oct. 12.

Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio, following a nonjury trial, found Flowers guilty of two felony counts of aggravated assault and misdemeanor offenses that included simple assault, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. The judge acquitted him of one felony count of making a bomb threat.

Mutual Aid first responder Lisa Conners testified as EMTs placed Flowers in the back of the ambulance he became enraged as his father attempted to intervene and dissuade them from transporting him to the hospital.

“He spit on me and my partner after we said we would call the police. He became more violent and started throwing items,” Conners said.

She testified Flowers trashed the ambulance, destroyed medical equipment and threw a fire extinguisher at them and through the rear window of a neighbor’s parked sports utility vehicle.

Prosecutors said Flowers caused more than $5,300 in damage to the ambulance.

Flowers did not testify during the trial.

Defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky argued Flowers did not intend to injure the first responders or was knowingly violent. He suffered from a mental health incident, Gorzelsky said.

Assistant District Attorney Theresa Miller-Sporrer said Flower’s actions were criminal.

“He tried to hurt them. When you try to hit someone with a fire extinguisher that is a felony,” Miller-Sporrer argued.

The judge ordered Flowers undergo a mental health evaluation and said she will conduct a sentencing hearing in about three months.