A suspected drunk driver who passed out in a rental truck awoke to flee the scene and then grab garden shears before his arrest, police said.
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Joseph Harnatkiewicz, 66, whose hometown was not listed in court papers, was arrested on Wednesday, July 8, by after a series of incidents that began at the intersection of New Falls Road and Veterans Highway in Levittown.
Middletown Township police were dispatched to the intersection after a 9-1-1 caller reported a man was unconscious in the driver’s seat of a rental truck and losing color in his lips. A second caller told dispatchers the driver could not be woken up.
A witness noticed two beers in the vehicle’s center console. When she took the keys, Harnatkiewicz allegedly pushed her and fled the scene, police said.
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Several witnesses followed Harnatkiewicz as he ran and watched him discard his hat and beer bottles into a dumpster.
Harnatkiewicz then entered a business on New Falls Road through its back door, grabbed a pair of large gardening shears inside, and barricaded himself in a bathroom, police said.
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A witness who located Harnatkiewicz inside the bathroom attempted to intervene, sparking a struggle, police said.
During the struggle, Harnatkiewicz allegedly made cutting motions with the shears and pushed the witness before fleeing once again, police said.
The witness reportedly sustained a cut to the elbow.
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A Bristol Township police officer noted that Harnatkiewicz smelled of alcohol and vomit, according to authorities.
At the police station, Harnatkiewicz refused to submit to a blood draw and told officers he only entered the building on New Falls Road to “take a piss,” police said.
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Harnatkiewicz has been charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, reckless endangerment, simple assault, theft, and driving under the influence. He was preliminarily arraigned before District Judge Charles Jonas and is being held on 10 percent of $100,000 bail.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
