Bradley Scott Lloyd, 40, of Tyrone, is escorted by sheriff’s deputies after a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Blair County Central Court. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor-Musselman

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Tyrone man accused of attacking a “safety sitter” while in the UPMC Altoona Emergency Department last week was known to hospital police due to an incident earlier that day, according to testimony presented during his preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Bradley Scott Lloyd, 40, appeared in Blair County Central Court alongside his attorney Chief Public Defender Julia Burke as witnesses detailed the incident that led to victim Travis Dunn being critically injured and flown to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh for emergency surgery. (While the Mirror typically does not identify victims, Dunn was named in a previous article about a widely circulated Gofundme page set up for his recovery).

At the conclusion of the hearing, Lloyd had six charges, including three felony counts of aggravated assault, two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and a misdemeanor count of simple assault, held for court. The District Attorney’s Office withdrew 11 additional charges due to a lack of evidence.

Dunn was acting as the patient’s sole safety sitter on Saturday, Nov. 1, when the attack occurred, said an Emergency Room nurse who was on duty at time.

Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mays called on the nurse, who testified to being at the nurse’s station when she heard yelling.

The nurse reported seeing Lloyd striking Dunn on the side of the head multiple times. When she reached Dunn, he had fallen from his chair and was found unconscious on the floor. The nurse flipped Dunn onto his back and noted blood coming from his nose before stabilizing his cervical spine.

The nurse said Dunn remained unconscious while a doctor cleared his airway but regained consciousness as he was being taken to the hospital’s trauma bay. She said Dunn was confused, repetitive and didn’t know what happened.

Burke asked the nurse if she had treated Lloyd, to which the nurse said Lloyd was her patient.

She said Lloyd was at the hospital for “behavioral health” and was there for “a couple hours” before she interacted with him. The nurse said she didn’t know if Lloyd was there under a “201 or 302,” or as a voluntary admission or involuntary commitment.

Burke then asked what role Dunn was playing in Lloyd’s treatment.

“Dunn was a safety sitter, to make sure (Lloyd) didn’t do anything to hurt himself while waiting to go up to the psych ward,” the nurse said.

UPMC Altoona Police Cpl. William Chase also testified, saying he received a call for a violent patient and was informed by a physician’s assistant that “a nurse was the victim.”

On scene, Chase said he “had to step over Mr. Dunn because he was unconscious on the floor” to confront Lloyd, who he described as acting aggressively. He said Lloyd only began complying with police demands when he and another officer drew their Tasers and pointed them at Lloyd.

When asked by Burke, Chase said he had been stationed at the hospital’s ambulance bay just outside the emergency department. Chase said he was aware of Lloyd because he had been notified of an incident involving Lloyd that occurred that morning.

Chase was prevented from elaborating on the nature of the incident due to Mays’s objection to the line of questioning, which was sustained by presiding Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones.

Burke then questioned Chase on Lloyd’s demeanor. Chase said Lloyd was aggressive in “both actions and words,” noting he was in a fighting position, was swearing and belligerent. When asked what Lloyd said, Chase replied that the Lloyd was repeating how the nurses were messing with him, he wanted to leave and “f*** this place.”

In her closing arguments, Burke conceded that Mays had met the burden of proof when it came to the simple assault charge but claimed the evidence shown did not rise to the level of aggravated assault as outlined by law. She pointed to the hospital’s surveillance footage, which showed a “flurry” of punches “in a matter of seconds” and that Lloyd stopped his attack once Dunn was on the floor unconscious.

Burke also claimed that as the assault occurred within a private patient room, the disorderly conduct charges did not apply in the case.

Regarding the aggravated assault charge, Mays argued that the burden is met if there was an attempt to cause serious bodily injury. He said the assault on Dunn only ended with outside intervention, without which Dunn could have suffered greater injury.

As it stands, Dunn suffered a brain bleed, fractured jaw, fractured skull and had to be transported to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh for emergency surgery, Mays said.

He asked for the disorderly conduct charges to also be bound to court due to the number of people who intervened during the incident, along with Lloyd’s “yelling and screaming.”

Jones ultimately agreed with Mays, citing the fact that UPMC Altoona, a trauma center in and of itself, was unable to provide the necessary treatment for Dunn for the justification of the aggravated assault charges. For the disorderly conduct charges, he pointed to the disruption to the flow of the hospital’s emergency department.

Lloyd remains in Blair County Prison with bail denied. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 19.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.