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The incident took place in Ulster County at the Love Bites Cafe around 9:30 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 20 in the village of Saugerties.
Saugerties Police responded to the café after receiving a 911 call that a man had threatened the use of a knife, said Chief of Saugerties Police Joseph Sinagra.
An investigation by responding officers established that 40-year-old Jona Knox, of Saugerties, engage in a verbal argument with the cafe’s manager over a payment he believed he was owed for work performed earlier in the week, Sinagra said.
When the manager told Knox he would have to return at a later date, Knox became physically aggressive toward the female manager, spitting in the manager's face, then pulling her by her hair while punching her in the face, the chief said.
A co-worker who attempted to intervene on behalf of the manager, sustained a laceration to his hand when Knox slashed him with a knife, Sinagra said.
Customers reportedly fled from the café as Knox was assaulting the workers. Knox then fled taking the knife with him, he added.
Paramedics from DIAZ ambulance responded to the scene and treated both victims for their injuries.
At 3:10 p.m., officers took Knox into custody. The knife used in the altercation was also located, Sinagra said.
Knox was charged with the following:
- Assault
- Two counts of menacing
- Criminal possession of a weapon
Knox, a predicate felon, was arraigned in the village of Saugerties Justice Court and remanded to the Ulster County Jail without bail.
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