A Latrobe man allegedly assaulted two Johnstown police officers early Monday morning, officials said.
Timothy Devalerio, 21, is being held in the Cambria County jail on $10,000 bail after he allegedly tried to bite one of the officers and eventually fled the scene.
Officers responded to an area near the 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial, around 12:15 a.m. in response to a man on the side of the highway. When officers arrived, they found Devalerio along with a backpack and “several bottles of prescription medications on the roadway,” according to his arrest papers.
Officers asked Devalerio if he felt OK, believing he was under the influence of controlled substances, and told him to relax and “don’t do anything stupid,” according to the complaint. When officers asked him about what prescription medication he could have taken, Devalerio allegedly turned to run.
The two officers grabbed hold of Devalerio and started to handcuff him, when he turned and tried to bite one of the officers on the right arm, officials said. Officers tased Devalerio, then the three started to fall down a steep, rocky hillside, according to the complaint.
Officers got one handcuff on Devalerio before he broke free, sliding head first to a street below.
Officers said they found Devalerio in the woods, bleeding from his head and wearing the handcuffs.
He continued to fight officers as he was being taken into custody, according to his arrest papers.
Devalerio said he had “just left a halfway house and doesn’t remember what happened,” police said, admitting to taking too many medications.
Devalerio and the officers were taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. The officers sustained scrapes and minor cuts from falling down the hill, they said.
Devalerio is charged with aggravated assault, public drunkenness, escape, resisting arrest, and theft and receiving stolen property for running off handcuffed. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 8.
