A local man bit off part of a court officer’s ear and injured two others last week after a judge told him that he had violated the terms of probation.
Gaeton Remy, 31, of 162-15 Hyland Avenue, Jamaica, was in a Kew Gardens courtroom last Thursday morning when Judge Steven Knopf ordered him jailed for violating probation.
Remy reportedly grew so outraged at the judge’s decision that he resisted arrest and bit Patrick Glynn, one of the court officers who attempted to subdue him. The bite tore off the entire outer lobe of Glynn’s ear.
Following the incident, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown charged Remy with assault, aggravated assault upon an officer, criminal contempt, criminal mischief, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. Remy faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all of the charges.
Remy was appearing in Queens County Criminal Court at 11:45 a.m. on charges that he did not cooperate with officials on his probation.
The probation stemmed from a July 6th incident in which he reportedly punched and kicked his girlfriend in the face. Remy had been sentenced to one year’s probation and 60 days in jail on sexual abuse, assault and harassment charges.
The judge told Remy that he did not follow the terms of his probation, after which Remy started yelling at the judge.
Knopf ordered him removed to a secure area where he could cool down and speak to his lawyer. When a court officer put one handcuff on, Remy reportedly began to flail his arms and kick his legs, hitting the bailiff.
“He became belligerent, arrogant and then violent, and entered into a melee with the court officers during which he bit off part of an officer’s ear,” court spokesman David Bookstaver told reporters.
The ear belonged to Glynn, who rushed in from an adjacent courtroom to help restrain Remy. “I basically opened the door and walked into the middle of a melee,” Glynn said. “I just dove right in and I tried to tackle the guy.”
In the scuffle, Remy then bit Glynn’s left ear—Remy was wearing a sharp metal denture at the time—thereby severing it.
Glynn was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where doctors decided against reattaching the lobe because of the risk of infection. Doctors gave Glynn 18 stitches and hope to reconstruct the ear later.
Two fellow bailiffs, Christopher Baker and John Drewal, were taken to New York Medical Hospital in Flushing, where they were treated for bruises.
Remy was finally restrained after bailiffs tied his legs and carried him out of the courtroom. He was later taken to Queens Hospital for psychiatric tests.
Last week’s incident in Kew Gardens came one day after a bailiff’s gun was fired inside a Manhattan courtroom during another fight.
In that incident, a man who had been convicted of selling crack cocaine reportedly grabbed the gun, causing it to discharge into a wall. No one was injured.
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