SUFFOLK, Va. — Police have added more charges for a Suffolk man who was arrested for the suspected arson of the Suffolk Tower apartment complex.
Herbert Boothe, 69, had to be rescued from the fire and taken to the hospital on July 13. Suffolk Police were waiting on his release from the hospital to arrest him for Arson of an Occupied Dwelling.
A Friday release from the city said Boothe racked up more charges between then and July 16, when officers took him into custody.
A spokesperson said during treatment, Boothe spit in an officer's face and scratched the arms and chest of a nurse.
The officer who wrote the criminal complaint against Boothe put it like this:
"While in the ER I heard a commotion coming from Mr. Boothe's room. Upon walking in I was advised by [a respiratory therapist] that Mr. Boothe had grabbed onto her shirt, scratching her chest as well as her arm. I began to place another set of handcuffs on Mr. Boothe at which point he made eye contact with me, and expectorated on my face."
The complaint alleges Boothe told the officer he was "trying to 'catch a feel,'" and talked about the nursing staff's bodies.
He was charged with Assault & Battery of a Police Officer and Sexual Battery.
The spokesperson said Friday he's being held in the Western Tidewater Regional Jail without bond.
Families still haven't been let back into their homes at the Suffolk Tower apartments.