Thomas Apollo Of Poway Charged With Attacking Workers At Tustin Vaccine Clinic, Groping Nurse Trying To Treat Him
TUSTIN (CBSLA) — A Poway man faces charges of battery and resisting arrest for attacking two medical assistants at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Tustin and groping a nurse who was trying to treat his injuries.
Thomas Apollo, 44, was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor battery and resisting arrest in connection with the Dec. 30 melee at the Families Together clinic. He had been asked to leave because he refused to wear a mask, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Apollo reacted by calling the clinic workers "murderers," and punching one of the medical assistants five times, and another twice, prosecutors said. Several bystanders pinned Apollo down until police arrived, and prosecutors say he then refused to follow commands from the arriving officers. They had to use a taser to subdue him so he could be handcuffed, prosecutors said.
At OC Global Medical Center, prosecutors say Apollo went on to grab a nurse's finger and bend it, and grope her breast as she treated him for minor cuts and scrapes.
"Instead of being treated with the same compassion and respect in which they treat their patients, these health care workers were punched in the face and physically assaulted for just trying to do their jobs," District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
Apollo, who is free on bail, is scheduled to be arraigned on March 30. If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum sentence of three years in Orange County Jail.