YARMOUTH – A man attending a group drug rehab meeting at the “Habit Opco” left in an ambulance with a large forehead gash requiring 12 stitches and a second head laceration requiring 7 staples…

… it’s safe to say it wasn’t the type of rehabilitation he was looking for.

An emergency room physician and police were having a hard time believing the man’s wounds were caused by just a closed fist.

On 12/21/2018, at about 8:03 a.m., Yarmouth cops were reportedly dispatched to the Habit Opco drug rehab clinic at 31 Workshop Road for a fight. It was reported one of the parties had suffered injuries and an ambulance responded as well.

Upon arrival, officers met the victim who was sitting down, bleeding from a large gash on his forehead… and a rehab clinician informed officers the other combatant had just left prior to their arrival.

By all witness accounts, the fight started after the victim had arrived at the morning meeting cranky and in a foul mood… that there was an argument with a third party when the suspect, for one reason or another, decided to step in. There was yelling back and forth, and that’s when the fists started flying, with the suspect doing most of the swinging.

There was blood dripping everywhere from the head gash, and the victim’s coffee had been thrown in self defense.

After receiving multiple blows, the victim rallied and got the suspect in a headlock, but that didn’t stop the profuse bleeding. Seeing the unusual amount of blood spilling onto his clothing, the victim realized his injuries were more serious than just a simple punch in the head and released the suspect, who promptly made like a tree and got the hell out of there.

It was a mess that left meeting goers confused, not entirely sure what had just happened.

Yarmouth Patrol Officer Andrew Coville continued his investigation at the Cape Cod Hospital emergency room where he took another look at the victim’s injuries, concluding that the injuries “sustained in the altercation looked very deep and extreme to have been only caused by a closed fist.”

Officer Coville later followed up with the emergency room doctor who treated the victim and was reportedly told, “the wound on the [victim’s] forehead is referred to as a ‘stellate’ wound and is not often seen in car crash victims and is not consistent with a wound caused by a bare fist. He also stated the wound on top [the victim’s] head and ear were lacerations that were most likely caused by a foreign sharp object, not a person’s fist. I asked the doctor if the wounds looked like they could be from brass knuckles and he stated yes. The doctor stated that when he first saw the wounds he initially thought they were from someone wearing several edged rings on their fingers but brass knuckles would make much more sense.”

It wasn’t until two days later – 12/23/2018 – that additional witnesses began coming forward, giving police a clearer picture. Officer Coville was also shown a picture from the suspect’s Facebook account (see above FB photos) that show him posing with a set of black colored “brass knuckles…”

One witness even came forward with a detailed signed witness statement saying, “I witnessed along with several others the entire incident. [The victim] was trying to leave class during a tiff between another gentleman and had nothing to do with [the suspect].”

The witness statement describes the suspect as the aggressor who attacked the victim, and who wouldn’t stop striking the victim’s head. According to the statement, witnesses were in fear, “Not one of us wanted to break it up in fear that [the suspect] would hit us with [the] object.”

One witness reported seeing the suspect hand off a set of brass knuckles to another man before leaving after the alleged attack.

The witness concluded his statement, calling the entire fray a “premeditated attack,” and that “Blood was everywhere. I will be a witness because this is not rite [sic].”

Due to witness statements, professional observations, and the fact the victim’s lower left ear was partially torn in half, Officer Coville requested an arrest warrant for Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, and Mayhem.

The suspect, Michael J. Pasaska, age 36, of Fall River, was arrested and charged with A&B with a Dangerous Weapon – Brass Knuckles, Mayhem, and simple A&B.

Pasaska denied all charges at his arraignment in Barnstable District Court yesterday, Thursday, 12/27/2018.

Pasaska is currently being held without the possibility of bail in the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne, pending a Dangerousness Hearing scheduled for 1/2/2019.

* All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is brought to you by The Rolling Stones… [CRANK IT!]

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