Treatment Center patient accused of assaulting staff members

A patient at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center is accused of assaulting two staff members.

Fulove James Ferba-Smith, 24, was charged Monday in Nicollet County Court with felony counts of 3rd & 4th-degree assault, and threats of violence.

A criminal complaint says Ferba-Smith threatened to kill a staff member who asked him to remove his hand from the inside of a half-door that separated patients from the staff office.

Ferba-Smith “continued to escalate,” according to the complaint, entered the office, and began attacking the staff, who was able to deflect the blows.

The complaint says Ferba-Smith then punched another staff member in the face, causing the victim’s glasses to break. As other staff members tried to restrain him, Ferba-Smith allegedly threatened to find items on the unit to kill staff and threatened to find people outside the hospital to harm the staff.

The complaint says the punching victim was slurring his words and had memory loss.  He was diagnosed with a concussion.  He told police he had a black eye, headaches, and continued disorientation for several days after the January incident.

Later the same month, Ferba-Smith was accused of threatening to stab a staffer with two pens.  A staff member was able to coax the pens away from Ferba-Smith, but he allegedly tried to break a sprinkler head a short time later.

A criminal complaint says Ferba-Smith then threw a cup of his urine and a plate of food at staff members who entered his until with security shields.  The urine landed on one worker’s shoulder, front, and back, according to the complaint.

Ferba-Smith also allegedly punched another staffer in the back and continued to threaten staff after his restraint.  He’s been charged with felony 4th-degree assault in that case.