NORTHAMPTON — A Northampton man is being held on $5,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty in court Friday to charges that he punched a man with disabilities and threatened to burn down the man’s home.
Donald P. Renkowicz, 55, pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to charges of assault and battery on a disabled person, intimidation of a witness and threatening to commit a crime. He is being represented by attorney Colin Keefe.
Northampton Police were called to Meadow Street on Oct. 19, 2017, shortly after 8 p.m. for a report of an assault that had just occurred.
The alleged victim, a 38-year-old man with developmental disabilities, had a swollen upper lip and small cuts on his face when officers arrived, according to a report by Northampton Officer Heather Longley.
The man told police that a man named “Don” had punched in him in the face five times and threatened to burn down his house if he went to the police, Longley wrote. The two men were known to each other.
Both the man and his mother “expressed a genuine concern for their safety and thought Renkowicz would come burn their house down,” Longley wrote.
Renkowicz was arrested on a warrant a day later and arraigned in Northamtpon District Court on similar charges four days after the incident. Following his arraignment in the lower court, Renkowicz was released on $500 bail and ordered to stay away from the man and abide by the conditions of a restraining order.
On Nov. 2, a warrant went out for his arrest and prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Renkowicz’s bail for failure to comply with pre-trial probation. He was arrested on Nov. 6 and had his bail revoked in the case, according to Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jayme Parent.
Renkowicz’s next court date is scheduled for May 24 although Keefe told the court he would seek a bail review hearing before that time.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.