A violent incident occurred at an Applebee’s restaurant on Commercial Drive in New Hartford on January 14th, when a man who had been previously asked to leave the restaurant returned and attacked staff members with a knife.
According to New Hartford Police, officers responded to multiple reports of a fight involving a knife and a handgun at 6:42 p.m. on Saturday. Upon arrival, they took 28-year-old Esteban F. Padron into custody.
It was reported that Padron had entered the restaurant after being asked to leave on a previous date due to his disorderly behavior. When he returned on January 14th, staff recognized him and asked him to leave. However, Padron began attacking a staff member as he was being escorted out, then ran behind the bar, grabbed a steak knife and continued fighting with multiple staff members.
During the altercation, one staff member suffered a cut to his face and another staff member was also cut and sustained a non-life-threatening injury.
A citizen who was in possession of a handgun, intervened by drawing his gun and ordering Padron to stay on the ground and let go of the knife. Padron then discarded the knife and stayed on the ground until the police arrived.
Padron was charged with second-degree attempted assault, two counts of third-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He was also taken to St. Luke’s Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
The police is continuing with their investigation and trying to identify other potential witnesses, additional charges may be filed.
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