DUBOIS – A Punxsutawney man is facing charges following a scuffle with police.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed with District Judge Patrick Ford’s office Feb. 20, Christopher Thomas Sekula, 31, 5754 McGees Mills Rd., Punxsutawney, is charged by the DuBois City police with aggravated assault, simple assault, criminal trespass, resisting arrest and harassment following an incident at the Uniformity store on North Brady Street.
According to the affidavit, police were called to Uniformity for a man who was “acting strange” and lying on the floor of the business. While police were on their way to the store, they were told the man was now up, walking around and trying to go behind the “employees only” counter.
The police were then told the man had locked himself in a private bathroom and the employee was outside and safe.
When police arrived, they knocked on the door and asked several times for the man to come out of the bathroom, but he would not open the door. The officers got permission to make entry into the locked bathroom.
When the officers forced the door open, the man pushed the door closed. The officers pushed the door open again and the man came out of the bathroom screaming and charged one of the officers. The man, later identified as Sekula, began to hit one of the officers in the head.
A second officer tackled Sekula, but Sekula continued to fight with the officers. As the officers struggled to restrain Sekula, he passed out and the officers were able to handcuff Sekula and put him in an ambulance. An officer rode to the hospital with Sekula, who was in and out of consciousness. Sekula allegedly told the EMT’s that he had taken “PCP and crank” and that he had a seizure disorder.
Police spoke to the employee who said she was in her office when Sekula came into the store. She asked Sekula if he needed any help, but he said no. The employee said she noticed Sekula had a “weird tone” to his voice and would not make eye contact with her. The employee said Sekula bent down and unzipped his backpack. She asked if he needed anything, but Sekula proceeded to lie down on the floor and rolled his eyes. She said she then called the police.
The employee said while she was on the phone, Sekula got back up and started to walk around the counter. She told him several times not to come behind the counter. She then went back into the office and closed the door, but Sekula kept coming and opened the door to the office. The employee said she was “terrified” and ran out the back door of the building and that’s when police arrived.
The officer Sekula charged had to be treated for an injured knee.