GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — Two men were ordered held without bail after a dangerousness hearing in a hate crime case Monday. On July 16th, Warren Martinez of Northampton and Thomas Patnode of Greenfield are accused of assaulting a Sunderland store’s employee and another individual after the employee refused to sell them alcohol, leaving them with serious injuries.
From the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office:
Two men held as dangerous in hate crime case out of Sunderland
GREENFIELD – Two men today were ordered held without bail after a judge deemed them too dangerous to be released in connection with an assault on two individuals at a Sunderland liquor store on July 16, 2024.
Warren Martinez, 30, of Northampton, had pleaded not guilty in Greenfield District Court Monday to the following charges: mayhem; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury; two counts of assault and battery with intent to intimidate (a hate crime); breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony; malicious destruction of property; and disorderly conduct, subsequent offense.
Thomas Patnode, 24, of Greenfield, pleaded not guilty in Greenfield District Court Monday to these charges: three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon; two counts of intimidation of a witness; and two counts of threatening to commit a crime.
Both men are accused of assaulting a store employee and another individual in the store after the employee refused to sell them alcohol. As a result of the attack, the employee suffered significant injuries. Patnode also faces a charge of threatening a witness to the incident. Sunderland Police are investigating the case.
At their arraignments Monday, the men were ordered held pending dangerousness hearings held today before Greenfield District Court Judge Laurie MacLeod.
At that hearing, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Suhl asked MacLeod to hold the men under a statute that allows defendants to be held without bail if they are deemed too dangerous to be released. After recounting the facts of the incident and other information about the defendants, Deputy DA Suhl argued that the victims in the case as well as the community at large would be placed at risk if the defendants were released.
Judge MacLeod granted that motion, ordering them to be detained pending trial. Martinez was represented in court by Attorney Chrisiant Bracken. Patnode was represented in court by Attorney Emily Eash.
The cases are next scheduled to be in court on August 22, 2024, for pre-trial conferences.