Preliminary hearing held for man who allegedly tried to disarm officer at Excela Hospital

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — A suspect accused of causing a panic at a Westmoreland hospital said he was sorry for what happened and that he wasn’t in the right state of mind because drugs took over his life.

”I had been on methamphetamines for 2 months, for the 2 months I was out, I hadn’t really slept and didn’t know what was going on. One thing led to another and that’s what happened,” Cory Lonsinger said as he was being escorted out of court in handcuffs.

Lonsinger blames a drug-fueled addiction that led to him being charged and accused of trying to take a police officer’s gun inside Excela hospital in Greensburg.

He had a preliminary hearing Thursday morning, where the judge held all charges for court.

The officer involved in the scuffle took the stand and said he heard the suspect say, “I have your gun, I’m going to shoot you.”

Officer Todd Brandt told the judge, “He was tugging at my weapon, my firearm.

”Lonsinger never got the gun out of the holster, but the conversation was heard over radio dispatch and prompted the hospital to shelter in place.

Police said it took a handful of officers to get Lonsinger under control and handcuffed, and the scuffle left his face bloodied and bruised. 

Lonsinger was brought to the emergency room for a cut on his foot after allegedly running from police and breaking into two houses in South Greensburg earlier that day.

He told Channel 11 on Thursday that he’s sorry for what happened.

”I just did 3 years upstate. That wasn’t my intentions for when I came out … Drugs got a hold of my life and ruined it in 2 months,” Lonsinger said.

His public defender did try to address bond with the judge on this particular case, but the judge said because Lonsinger has a detainer from being on state parole, he will remain in jail without bail.

Police: man in custody for burglary tries to take officer’s gun at Excela Westmoreland Hospital

©2022 Cox Media Group