By Nancy Bean Foster
The Union Leader
MONT VERNON, NH — A woman who allegedly attacked three ambulance personnel when they responded to her call for help failed to appear in court yesterday because she has been checked into a hospital, her attorney said.
Adrienne Valdez, 28, was charged with a felony count of second-degree assault and two misdemeanor simple assault charges for her Memorial Day attack on Amherst Ambulance Service EMTs Lynn Briggs, Sandra Power and Carylyn McEntee.
According to Mont Vernon Police Chief Kyle Aspinwall, the three EMTs responded to a report that someone was having difficulty breathing at a home at 27 Old Milford Road in Mont Vernon around 8:30 am on Monday, May 31.
When the EMTs arrived, Aspinwall said, Valdez, 28, was sitting cross-legged on the front lawn of the home. The EMTs approached and asked Valdez if she needed help. Valdez allegedly said she couldn’t breathe, and when one of the medical technicians told the woman she seemed anxious, Valdez allegedly attacked.
According to Aspinwall, Valdez headbutted Briggs in the face, knocking her to the ground, and then went after McEntee, allegedly headbutting her, biting her elbow and breaking her wrist. Power allegedly tried to jump in and was also attacked and suffered cuts and bruises.
Power is back on the job, said Ambulance Director Brian Gleason, but McEntee is expected to be out on worker’s compensation for four to six weeks while her broken wrist heals, and Briggs, who is suffering from injury to her ribs, is also expected to be out of work for several more weeks.
“In my ten years in Amherst, I’ve never seen an attack like this,” said Gleason. “I guess it’s one of the hazards of the job, but you never want to see your employees get hurt.”
Yesterday, attorney Jean-Claude Sakellarios, who is representing Valdez, appeared in Milford District Court asking to reschedule the probable cause hearing because Valdez had been checked into a hospital. Sakellarios did not elaborate on the cause of Valdez’ hospital admission but asked the judge to schedule the hearing for after July 1. Crocker agreed to postpone the hearing until July 27 at 9 am.
Valdez was reportedly hospitalized over the weekend, but not before she requested a temporary restraining order against her father, Dr. Romulo Valdez Jr., who lives at the house on Old Milford Road where the alleged attack occurred.
Valdez alleged in the court documents that she was afraid of her father though she did not cite any specific instances in which he was physically violent against her, but she did say her father’s requirement that she achieve perfection was a form of abuse.
A hearing on the merits of the restraining order will likely be postponed until Valdez is released from the hospital as well.
Copyright 2010 Union Leader Corp.