Man Charged After Punching 2 Clinic Employees In Orange County
ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A man who punched two medical assistants at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Tustin has been charged with misdemeanor battery and resisting arrest, the Orange County District Attorney's Office reported Tuesday.
The man also reportedly groped a nurse who was providing him with medical care, the OCDA said.
Poway resident Thomas Apollo, 44, is accused of punching one of the medical assistants five times and another medical assistant twice on Dec. 30. Apollo has been charged with one misdemeanor count of battery on a nurse, two misdemeanor counts of battery and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in the Orange County Jail if convicted on all counts.
“Instead of being treated with the same compassion and respect in which they treat their patients, these health care workers were punched in the face and physically assaulted for just trying to do their jobs,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. “Violence of any kind will not be tolerated and we will hold this individual accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Apollo is scheduled to be arraigned at the Central Justice Center in Department C54 on March 30.
Apollo is also accused of "acting erratically," the OCDA's office reported in a news release, while visiting a Families Together clinic after he refused to wear a mask. According to the news release, Apollo called the clinic workers "murderers" and used expletives toward employees who asked him to put a mask on.
After refusing to go outside, the OCDA's office reported that several bystanders pinned Apollo down until police arrived.
Additionally, the suspect is accused of resisting arrest from police, who ultimately used a taser to subdue him into handcuffs. Apollo was shortly taken to the Orange County Global Medical Center to be treated for "minor cuts and scrapes," and reportedly grabbed a nurse's finger and bent it backward while groping her breast, the statement said.
This article originally appeared on the Orange County Patch
