Trending
AUSTINTOWN -- A man is out on bond after police arrested him for allegedly assaulting his neighbor and threatening officers when they arrived at the scene.
On Monday, Jerome Varga, 45, of Tall Oaks Lane in Austintown, appeared by video from Mahoning County jail, before Mahoning County Austintown Court Judge Scott Hunter, and pleaded not guilty to one count of disorderly conduct while intoxicated, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. Hunter imposed a $500 recognizance bond for that charge.
Varga also is charged with intimidation of a police officer, a third-degree felony. Hunter set an $8,000 cash or surety bond for that charge and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Jan. 3. Jail records show Varga posted bond Monday.
Austintown police arrested Varga around 3 a.m. Monday after responding to a possible crash at his Tall Oaks Lane home.
According to the police report, officers arrived to find Varga agitated and arguing with his girlfriend. The report states that Varga's neighbor confronted him for making so much noise, and Varga allegedly admitted to police that he had grabbed the man by the neck and thrown him when the man stepped onto Varga's property.
The report states that Varga told police repeatedly that he was going to leave but police blocked his vehicle in the driveway with a police cruiser to prevent him from driving because he smelled heavily of alcohol.
The report states that Varga was combative and vulgar with police, threatening to fight them and shouting obscenities at them. Varga allegedly told one officer that if the officer were not wearing a police uniform, he would "kick his ass." He also repeatedly threatened to stab his neighbor in the neck.
Dating back to May of 2022, Varga has been charged with no fewer than nine felony counts of theft by Austintown and Boardman police, and once with improper handling of a firearm in November 2022. One of the theft charges was dismissed, and at least three were pleaded down to misdemeanors.
dpompili@vindy.com