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Steven Connell, 38, of Gill, was ordered held without the right to bail during a Greenfield District Court hearing on July 8, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
Connell is awaiting trial related to charges stemming from a June 4 incident in which he allegedly tried to hit three people - at least one of whom is black - with his bus by crashing it into a building.
According to police reports, three males had been riding a Franklin Regional Transit Authority bus, being driven by Connell, when they exited the vehicle on Main Street near Hope Street. They began walking down Main Street when the bus accelerated and veered off the right side of the road, going over the sidewalk and crashing into a stone wall and building, police said.
Connell then got off the bus and ran after the males. A member of the city’s fire department was nearby and observed Connell chase after and grab a male, police said. The firefighter intervened and separated Connell and the man, police said. Connell was reportedly yelling that the man he had grabbed had a gun. The man did not have a gun, police said.
Upon questioning, Connell said he believed the males had a gun so he attacked them. He crashed the bus in an attempt to “get them,” police said.
None of the victims were injured, police said. Connell, however, was brought to a hospital for treatment. While there, he kicked a hospital employee, police said.
Connell has been charged with a civil rights violation, assault and battery, assault on ambulance personnel, three counts of assault with intent to murder while armed, and four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and a marked lanes violation.
Connell’s next court appearance is Aug. 7.
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