Community Corner
PD: Wesleyan Prof Beaten By Suspected Gang Member Over Parking Space
Middletown Police say a Middlefield man with a long record repeatedly punched a victim in his car on Main Street while calling him racial slurs in full view of patrons outside a Mexican restaurant.
This story was written by Patch Local Editor Cassandra Day. It was reposted here by Eileen McNamara.
On June 24 at 7:48 p.m., a woman walked into police headquarters, alerting police about a "big fight" in front of LaBoca Restaurant in which a group of individuals were pulling a man out of his car, according to the report.
Police saw Jason G. Levesque, 32, of Mack Road, Middlefield, fleeing the scene, slowed to a walk at Court Street, made eye contact with an officer, and again took off running, according to police, behind Liberty Bank. He was found hiding in a stairwell in the rear, employee-only area of LaBoca, police say, wearing a NOMADS Outlaw biker gang white tee-shirt.
The victim, a Wesleyan University math professor, was sitting outside in his Toyota RAV4 with an ice bag on his head and injuries to his forehead and left ear, according to police. The victim said he was driving on Main Street, then stopped, put on his hazard lights to wait for a car to pull out of the spot he hoped to park in, when a man on a motorcycle drove the wrong way down Main Street and shot into the parking space. Police say the victim made a comment to Levesque as did another man, who told him to get back into his car, while Levesque called the victim a racial slur several times, punched him in the face and ear. The second man, the report says, jumped on the bike and drove away.
A witness told police he saw Levesque "beating on" the victim who was in his Toyota and a cell phone video confirmed the report.
The report says Levesque told police, "what about the fact that he threatened me with a gun?" to which the officer asked why he would open a car door and punch someone seven to eight times in the face if he had a gun.
The victim denied having a weapon when police contacted him, saying, "I've never had a gun or owned a gun in my life." No other witnesses saw a gun, police say.
Levesque, who was charged with breach of peace, second-degree intimidation based on bigotry and interfering with an officer, has a record of five arrests, including disorderly conduct, failure to appear, breach of peace, violation of a protective order, threatening and assault.
Make sure to like Meriden Patch on Facebook or follow on Twitter for breaking news, daily updates and more!
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
