A man being held at the Westmoreland County Prison was arraigned Thursday for assaulting a nurse at the jail, the second accused incident in as many weeks involving a nurse, according to court papers.
Joe Paul Biller, 37, of Mt. Pleasant is charged with aggravated assault and simple assault.
County detectives said a female nurse and male jail guard were passing out medications at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Hempfield facility when Biller grabbed the nurse’s arm and pulled it through the cell door, according to court papers. The guard attempted to get Biller to release the woman and, when he did, she fell to the floor, injuring her side and back, police said.
Surveillance video of the incident confirmed their accounts.
Biller’s bail was set at $50,000. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A Tuesday preliminary hearing is set.
That’s the same day he is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in a similar case. Biller was charged earlier this month with aggravated assault after detectives said he tried to grab a different female nurse and attacked a male jail guard.
That incident reportedly happened Aug. 25 when police said Biller reached out of his cell door and attempt to grab the nurse while she was delivering medication. She jumped out of his reach, and Biller head-butted a guard while being moved to a disciplinary unit, according to court papers.
Biller was lodged in the Hempfield jail in February, according to jail records. He is awaiting trial in several cases, including one in which he is accused of operating a meth lab out of a car in Mt. Pleasant and a second in which he is accused of fighting with police serving a mental health warrant.
