A Forest City man faces assault and drug charges after borough police said he fought with a friend and officers attempting to arrest him, resulting in several people being injured.
Assistant Chief Trevor Dzanis responded to a report of an assault in progress Thursday in the 400 block of Hudson Street. He arrived to find Daniel Robert Recker, 31, punching and slamming his body into Dylan Harhut’s vehicle as Harhut, who had a visible injury on his face, tried to leave.
Recker appeared to be under the influence of drugs, with “an extreme amount of rage,” not making sense and foaming at the mouth, the assistant chief wrote in a criminal complaint.
Dzanis told Recker, 417 Hudson St., to stop multiple times but he refused, instead progressing toward him with his fists raised as Dzanis backed away, according to the complaint. The assistant chief asked him to stop a final time before deploying his Taser, which did not stop Recker, who ran toward Dzanis swinging his fists.
Daniel Robert Recker (Submitted)
After a struggle, the assistant chief was able to get him on the ground, with spectators assisting with dragging him into a police car as Recker resisted handcuffs.
Harhut told officers from the Carbondale Police Department, who responded to assist, that he was dropping off his dog for Recker to watch while he was going on a trip. He continued that his friend was acting “extremely strange” and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Dzanis said in the complaint. Harhut said he tried to leave with his dog when Recker assaulted him, resulting in him suffering a laceration and bruising. The assault continued until police arrived.
When Dzanis, who suffered minor injuries during his struggle with Recker, opened the police car door for emergency medical services technicians to evaluate Recker, he said Recker kicked the door into him and escaped. The assistant chief said three police officers got Recker back into the vehicle as he kicked and threatened them. A seat belt buckle broke while Recker was kicking in the back seat.
Police later found a glass bottle containing suspected ketamine and a plastic bottle containing suspected liquid LSD in Recker’s shorts pocket.
Dzanis charged Recker with felony counts of aggravated assault, escape, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver and misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, simple assault, institutional vandalism and two counts of intentional possession of a controlled substance.
Recker was taken to the Susquehanna County Prison, unable to post $50,000. His preliminary hearing is May 6.