September 14, 2012
Authorities suspect the Doylestown man who allegedly gnawed on a woman’s head in Hawley after stripping his clothes and jumping from a second-story window on Friday may have been under the influence of bath salts.
Richard Cimino Jr., 20, of Doylestown, had “allegedly” taken bath salts before the early morning incident Friday, said Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards, though that has not yet been confirmed by medical testing.
Cimino remains in Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton recovering from injuries suffered when he jumped from the second-floor window of a vacant home on Hudson Street in Hawley on Friday, after he stripped down to his underwear and unsuccessfully tried to break into another nearby home.
By the time he entered the vacant home at 521 Hudson St., Cimino had also taken off his underpants, state police said.
After the jump, Cimino went through the home’s garage then noticed two women walking down the street, state police said.
Naked and covered in his own blood because of the fall, Cimino approached the two women — Ann Monaghan and Nancy Dean-Corino, both of Hawley — and tackled Ms. Dean-Corino, according to state police.
Bleeding all over her, Cimino “began to gnaw” at Dean-Corino’s head, all while “screaming like an animal,” according to a state police press release.
The two women managed to escape and call police. Responding troopers found Cimino laying in the road covered in blood with severe injuries.
When Cimino — who state police described as acting delusional and confrontational — lunged at a trooper, another trooper deployed a stun gun, though he continued to act aggressively, even punching an emergency medical technician treating his injuries before he was transported to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton.
State police later filed two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault, indecent exposure and criminal mischief; three counts of burglary; and one count each of criminal trespass and defiant trespassing against Cimino.
The Hawley case bore striking similarity to another bizarre incident that took place in Miami earlier this year.
On May 26, Rudy Eugene attacked a homeless man in the South Florida city and chewed off most of the man’s face.
Eugene was shot and killed by Miami police and was widely suspected to have been under the influence of bath salts at the time of the grisly assault.
However, an investigation by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s office later found no drugs in Eugene’s system except for marijuana.
As of Thursday, Cimino remained in GCMC where he was listed in good condition, said Wendy Wilson, hospital spokeswoman.
Edwards, the district attorney, said Cimino had not yet been arraigned as he remained hospitalized.