A Greensburg man who was furloughed in March from the Westmoreland County Prison to get medical treatment is accused of fighting with sheriff’s deputies serving a warrant to take him back to jail, according to court papers.
Steven R. Zastawniak, 33, is charged with escape, resisting arrest and aggravated assault after an incident Monday at a U-Haul on Route 30 in Hempfield.
He was permitted by court order to leave the county jail to seek treatment for a back issue, and then return to the jail afterwards, according to court papers. Deputies said he never went back.
At 7 a.m. Monday, they found him at the business and handcuffed him. Zastawniak began dragging his feet and legs, refused to get into a deputy’s car, kicked one of them and threw himself on the ground, according to court papers. Deputies said they used Tasers twice during the struggle.
He was evaluated by paramedics and taken to the Westmoreland County Prison on the bench warrant. He had been participating in drug treatment court from 2018 to 2021 in the case and repeatedly was paroled to inpatient treatment facilities, according to online court records. He eventually was kicked out of the treatment court and sentenced to jail.
Zastawniak was arraigned on the new complaint Wednesday and was being held at the jail without bail.
He did not have an attorney listed in online court records for the new case. A preliminary hearing is set for June 10.
