PA. security officer stabbed at H2O hookah lounge
Bethlehem PA Aug 30 2018 A security guard trying to get a knife away from a Bethlehem hookah lounge patron ended up getting stabbed in the arm, city police said.
Jose Rafael Santiago, of the 300 block of Maple Street in Whitehall Township, is charged with simple assault, receiving stolen property and disorderly conduct.
The 32-year-old was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of 10 percent of $50,000 bail, and remained there as of Tuesday afternoon.
Bethlehem police said they were called a little after 4 a.m. Saturday to the H20 Hookah Lounge at 15 E. Third St. on South Side.
Staff at the lounge, where flavored tobaccos are smoked out of traditional hookahs, told police Santiago was seen with an open folding knife at his side, and it appeared he was going to use it, according to court records.
Security staff approached Santiago, and tried to get the knife away, police said. During the struggle, Santiago allegedly cut a security guard, leaving a small puncture wound in the man’s forearm.
The guard was treated on the scene by EMS.
Santiago was identified for officers, who said they found a stolen semiautomatic pistol in his pants pocket, and an extended magazine of .40 caliber rounds in a back pocket, police said.
Police said they collected the knife, as well as surveillance cameras footage of the altercation.
