Inmates charged with coffee cup, drug offenses
Jun. 25—Two Lawrence County jail inmates are facing charges filed Monday for separate, unrelated offenses.
Robert Joseph Pimentel, 60, of East Hillcrest Avenue, is accused of spitting in a corrections officer's coffee cup while he was away from his desk on June 7. The officer drank the coffee, reportedly, and the police through a search warrant of Pimentel's medical records learned he is a carrier of HIV, according to a criminal complaint.
Anthony Jacob Audino, 38, of Ford City, is accused of taking suspected fentanyl into the jail inside his clothing. He was taken to the hospital for possible fentanyl exposure and has not returned to the jail, according to jail records.
The charges were filed against both men by Lawrence County District Attorney detectives.
The counts against Pimentel are aggravated assault, aggravated harassment by prisoner, assault by prisoner and assault of a law enforcement officer, all felonies. He was incarcerated for multiple driving under the influence offenses.
According to the criminal complaint filed against him, the coffee cup incident reportedly occurred the afternoon of May 19 while the corrections officer was in the restroom, and was reported to the warden by another inmate.
The inmate reported that he saw Pimentel removing the lid and spitting in the officer's mug. The investigators verified the offense by watching a jail surveillance video, according to the complaint.
The police obtained a search warrant for Pimentel's health records and learned he had been a carrier of the disease since 1992. The investigator determined the officer unknowingly consumed the cup's contents after the incident.
Pimentel was arraigned by District Judge Melissa A. Amodie, who set an additional jail bond of $50,000.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Audino, he was arrested June 7 on an active bench warrant by a domestic relations officer. A jail captain admitting him to the jail noticed a powdery substance on his shorts that was suspected fentanyl. The captain confiscated the shorts and gave him jail garb. Another jail worker noticed a plastic bag containing pink powder in Audino's waistband, and a $5 bill was found inside the sweatband area of his baseball cap. The bill was folded and also contained loose pink powder, the report said.
Audino was taken to a hospital for evaluation and was medically cleared but is no longer in the jail, according to jail records.
He is charged with one felony count each of contraband and possession of a controlled substance by an inmate. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty or adjudicated by a court judge.
