CT man facing assault charge after helping state Rep. Maryam Khan during attack seeks dismissal

A veteran charged with assault after coming to the aid of state Rep. Maryam Khan when she was attacked outside a Muslim prayer service outside the XL Center in Hartford last summer has applied for a program that would lead to his case being dismissed.

Jason Spencer, 43, of Coventry applied for the diversionary program during a hearing Wednesday in Hartford Superior Court, where he appeared to answer to one misdemeanor count of third-degree assault.

Following the hearing, Spencer’s attorney, Aaron Romano, told reporters the prosecutor handling the case “generously offered” his client the use of the diversionary program. Spencer will learn on his next court date — on March 13 — whether he is eligible for the program, which Romano said he believes is a mere formality given that his client has no criminal history.

“On the next court date we’ll have some definitive answers in terms of the entry into the program and what those terms will be toward the dismissal,” Romano said.

During the proceeding, court officials said Spencer would have to undergo a mental health examination as part of the program. Because of the nature of the program, the case has been statutorily sealed from the public.

According to the police report, officers with the Hartford Police Department were dispatched to Trumbull Street shortly after 11 a.m. on June 28, 2023, on the report of an assault and found a suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Andrey Desmond, being detained by two bystanders. Khan, the report indicated, told officers Desmond made a sexually driven statement to her outside the XL Center before following her inside and then back outside when she attempted to get away from him. She and her family were attending an Eid al-Adha prayer service.

Desmond allegedly then put his arm around the state representative’s neck and tried to kiss her, causing her to pull away and prompting Desmond to slap her across the face, the report indicates. When he let go of her neck, Khan fell to the ground and suffered injuries, according to the report.

Desmond was chased down by two bystanders, one of whom police identified as Spencer. According to the report, police allege Spencer kicked Desmond in the face after he stopped struggling.

Hartford police sought a warrant for Spencer’s arrest and charged him last September — one of several things for which Khan has criticized investigators.

“Some of the flaws in our criminal legal system are coming to light through this case,” Khan said during a news conference outside the Hartford courthouse following Wednesday’s hearing. “And it is unfair that someone that assisted a woman being attacked is having to defend himself in our system. Jason Spencer should be rewarded for his bravery, should be celebrated, uplifted and not criminalized.”

Romano said his client was down the block when he ran “full speed” to help Khan as two other bystanders who were much closer stood by and did nothing.

“I took an oath to defend this constitution, to defend the country, to defend all the citizens, and if I’ve served in a warzone fighting for the defense of others — I am home now — if I see someone needing help I have to intervene,” Spencer said, alongside Khan and Romano outside the courthouse. “And I feel all citizens should do that.

“We should all look out for each other,” Spencer added. “So I just could not hear this lady screaming and fighting for her life and just stand there and not do anything. That’s not how I was raised and that’s not what the U.S. Army instilled in me. I love this great country and I love all the citizens.”

According to Khan, who attended the court proceeding to express her support for Spencer, the army veteran served two tours in Iraq and in New York City on 9/11.

“I think people should not fear coming to assist someone being attacked and people should feel confident in our laws because … we do have self-defense laws,” said Khan, who added that she continues to seek treatment for a neck injury she suffered during the attack, which she said seems to be “life-long.”

Romano said he believes there could have been more discretion used by Hartford police and the State’s Attorney’s Office regarding whether they pursued a charge against Spencer.

“But on the other hand, we do have this generous offer that they’ve made after the fact,” Romano said. “So we’re very pleased with that.”

The hearing Wednesday comes after the city’s Civilian Police Review Board last week voted to sustain charges against a patrol officer who handled Khan’s complaint and the sergeant who was supervising. The vote was made following an outside investigation that concluded the officer and sergeant left important details out of their reports on the assault.

The matter is also the subject of an internal affairs investigation.

Meanwhile, the criminal case against Desmond remains pending. He has pleaded not guilty to a single misdemeanor and six felony charges, including those of second-degree assault, attempt to commit third-degree sexual assault, suffocation/strangulation and risk of injury to a minor.