FREELAND, Pa. — A Luzerne County man deemed a societal menace by a judge threw rocks through car windshields and a hurled large blade at the stomach of a police officer trying to cut short his run from the law, court records show.
Juan Tinoco remained locked up at the Luzerne County Prison on Monday, three days after Freeland police said he threw a carving knife at Officer Nicholas Saullo as Saullo tried to arrest him for an earlier disturbance. Saullo was unharmed.
Court records from Tinoco's arraignment Friday night noted Magisterial District Judge David A. Barilla denied the 32-year-old bail because Tinoco was considered a "menace to society."
Tinoco, of Freeland, does not yet have an attorney, according to court filings.
According to a criminal complaint, the incident began around 3:21 p.m. when Tinoco threw rocks through the windshields of a police cruiser, a privately owned vehicle and the glass front entrance of the borough's police station.
The damage to the glass and windshields topped $1,500, police said.
As the police looked for him, Tinoco called 911 and threatened he had a gun and "someone is going to die tonight, either him or the police," Saullo said in an affidavit.
"While attempting to locate Tinoco, he would call 911 and state that he has his friend with him whose first name is 35 and his last name was Cal," Saullo said in an affidavit.
Saullo wrote he spotted Tinoco at Washington Street and chased after him on foot down to the end of a dead-end alley.
Police said that Tinoco, with no other direction to run, brandished large carving knives in both hands and faced the officers who gave chase.
One of the police officers fired his stun gun as Tinoco moved toward them while swinging his knives.
As that happened, Tinoco threw a knife at Saullo, nearly striking his stomach.
The stun gun worked. Tinoco hit the ground. The police put him in handcuffs.
Tinoco faces counts of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and possessing instruments of crime, institutional vandalism and criminal mischief.
Tinoco is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 18 in Luzerne County Central Court.
