Four charged with assault of West Scranton man
Aug. 18—Two men and two women assaulted a West Scranton man who told officers the four took turns hitting him with a baseball bat after he agreed to fight one of his assailants early Wednesday outside his home, city police said.
Facing aggravated assault and other charges are three Scranton residents: Henry Perez Marin, 20, 226 Aspen Drive; Ayesha Teixeira Paiva, 23, 1228 S. Sixth Ave., and Natasha Lee Barbosa, 21, 2712 N. Main Ave., 2, and a Carbondale man, Elijah Henry Smallwood, 115 Westgate Drive, Apt. C14.
All four were held in the Lackawanna County Prison on $10,000 bail each after their arraignments before Magisterial District Judge Sean McGraw.
Officers who were dispatched to 1228 S. Sixth Ave. around 12:18 a.m. for a report of a stabbing found the victim, Clarence Thomas, with his head split open in multiple locations, Patrolman Adam Bisignani wrote in a criminal complaint.
In the meantime, police encountered the four suspects walking on Acker Avenue.
They told police a fight broke out after they accompanied Paiva, who has a 3-year-old daughter with Thomas, to the Sixth Avenue home to pick up the child, the complaint said.
Thomas said when he saw the four approach his home, he picked up a butcher knife and went outside to confront them, according to the complaint.
He told police Perez Marin wanted to fight him and he agreed, but Paiva, Smallwood and Barbosa then jumped into the fight, with all four taking turns to hit him with an aluminum baseball bat, including many times in the head, the complaint said.
Thomas was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center for treatment, police said.
The suspects told police that when they arrived at the house to pick up Paiva's daughter, Thomas threatened and chased them with a knife, the complaint said. They admitted hitting the victim to defend themselves but denied using a baseball bat during the altercation.
A silver Louisville Slugger was recovered at the scene, police said.
The complaint said the suspects also arrived in two separate vehicles and parked in the area of Acker Avenue before walking to the Sixth Avenue house. Neither of the vehicles had a child car seat, which would have been necessary if the suspects intended to pick up the daughter, police said.
In addition to aggravated assault, police charged the four with recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment.
Their preliminary hearings are scheduled Aug. 30 at 10:45 a.m.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132
