The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Wagshol’s father: ‘I don’t feel a threat from him’
NORWALK — With a black eye and a small cut on his nose, Abraham Wagshol told a judge Monday that his son did not intend to harm him during an apparent attack with a 23-inch metal pipe this weekend in their apartment.
Brandon Wagshol — who had been on house arrest on charges of possession of illegal high-capacity gun magazines after police say he showed an interest in mass shootings — was arrested Saturday when he allegedly beat his father during a dispute over playing his video games too loudly.
“I don’t feel a threat from him,” Abraham Wagshol told Judge William Wenzel during his son’s arraignment Monday at state Superior Court in Norwalk. “He’s never attacked me before.”
Wenzel ordered a full no-contact order and banned Brandon Wagshol from returning to his father’s apartment. Wagshol was sent back to jail in lieu of $500,000 bond on the new charges of second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
Defense attorney Darnell Crosland argued against the order to stay away from the Bedford Avenue apartment, saying it was “tantamount to making him homeless.”
Wenzel said all contact between the Wagshols would have to be done through Crosland.
The order could be changed, however, when Brandon Wagshol appears Thursday in state Superior Court in Stamford, where his case has been transferred.
Wagshol, 22, was arrested around 5 a.m. Saturday when police say neighbors reported loud commotion coming from the apartment. Crosland blamed the attack on the “unintended side effects” caused by a change in the dose of his medication.
Last month, police were called when a concerned neighbor reported that Wagshol had been spotted leaving his home in a helmet, camouflage and boots.
Wagshol had been confined to his father’s apartment after being released in August on a $250,000 bond for four counts of possession of illegal high-capacity gun magazine charges. Police said
Wagshol showed an interest in mass shootings on social media and had access to an arsenal of weapons and military gear belonging to his father.
Wagshol was arrested last year after the FBI received a tip from a family member who said he was trying to buy magazine clips, officials said. An investigation revealed that Wagshol had shown interest in mass shootings as early as sixth grade, according to a search warrant for his father’s apartment.
At the residence, police found a .40 caliber handgun, a .22 caliber rifle, a rifle scope with a laser, four firearm optic sites, a firearm flashlight, body armor with a titanium plate, a full camouflage outfit, a ballistic helmet, tactical gloves, a camouflage bag, computers, and numerous .40 caliber, .22 caliber and .300 blackout rounds of ammunition, the search warrant said.
Police said the guns were registered to Wagshol’s father, who was not charged.
In his witness statement, Wagshol said he had no intention of committing a mass shooting and he purchased the magazines in New Hampshire “to circumvent what I viewed as an unconstitutional restriction on the second amendment.”
Wagshol is next scheduled to appear for that case on Feb. 20 in Stamford.