WESTFIELD – A city man is being held without right to bail after he allegedly kidnapped his girlfriend, menaced her with a knife, threatened to kill her and stabbed himself in the stomach.
City police report that on at 6:46 p.m. Friday, April 5, a caller reported a domestic disturbance at a Morris Street apartment involving a man with knife who may have been intoxicated.
Officer Richard Mazza was the first officer to arrive but, because of concern for the safety for the female party involved in the disturbance, he entered the unlocked door of the apartment without waiting for Officer Michael Gibbons who arrived seconds later.
With his service weapon in hand, Mazza looked around a corner and saw the bare-chested suspect, who had a large knife in his left hand and blood on his stomach.
Mazza reports that the suspect fled into a bedroom and barricaded himself inside before the officer learned that the bedroom was where the woman had taken refuge from the man.
Three witnesses told police at the scene that the man, later identified as Joseph E. Theroux Jr., 44, of 15 Morris Street, had threatened to kill the woman and force the police to kill him.
Mazza reports that the scared woman was heard screaming and the man was yelling that police should shoot him.
Mazza did not oblige the man and instead officers kicked the door open.
Mazza reports that when the door opened he saw Theroux drop the knife so he holstered the service weapon in his hand and deployed his Taser but, when he fired the device, the man kicked the door closed and the dart was blocked.
As Mazza recharged his Taser, Theroux emerged from the room with a combative demeanor and appeared to be “sizing up” the officers facing him.
Mazza reports when the suspect did not obey police instructions he again fired his Taser, bringing Theroux to the floor and allowing officer to take him into custody.
He was found to have a stomach wound which witnesses said Theroux had inflicted upon himself earlier when he warned that if they called police he would kill the woman and be killed by police.
He was arrested for assault and battery in domestic relationship, assault with a dangerous weapon, threatening to commit a crime and kidnapping.
Transported to Noble Hospital for treatment of his wound, Theroux was interviewed by Mazza who detected an odor of alcohol and reports that Theroux said that he had consumed a pint of alcohol and an 18-pack of beer.
He was subsequently transported to Baystate Medical Center for surgery and returned to police custody.
When he appeared in Westfield District Court for arraignment Monday on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and threatening to commit a crime he was held without right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Assistant District Attorney Fred Burns, in his motion for pretrial detention, noted that Theroux had been intoxicated when he argued with his girlfriend and quoted him as saying “If you call the cops, I’ll have them shoot me and take you with me.”
Burns also noted that Theroux’s record includes convictions for breaking and entering, assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
At the hearing, Theroux did not contest his pretrial detention without right to bail, perhaps because he was going to stay in custody for another reason.
In June, 2012, he had been pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of a Class D drug (marijuana) and had been sentenced to one year terms in the house of correction, suspended, with probation with one year.
Accordingly, after he was arrested on the new charges, he was held on the orders of the probation department pending a violation of probation hearing scheduled for May 10.
