Man admits biting off coworker’s lip at Hatfield plant

NORRISTOWN >> A “vicious” workplace altercation at a Hatfield Township beverage company, during which one man bit off a portion of another man’s lip, ended with a guilty plea and the biter awaiting his fate from a judge.

Thomas E. Webb, 63, of the 4400 block of North Third Street, Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a felony charge of aggravated assault in connection with the Nov. 15, 2018, altercation at LiDestri Food & Beverage, where he and the victim worked.

“The defendant admitted to his conduct on that day which was that a fight ensued between him and his coworker and in the course of that fight he bit the victim a couple of times, including taking a chunk out of his lip,” said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Daniels, who vowed to seek jail time against Webb.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Webb, who is represented by defense lawyer Eugene Tinari.

Webb, who remains free on bail pending a sentencing hearing later this year, faces a possible maximum sentence of 5-to-10-years in prison on the charge. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.

“This was a horrific act. This is a fight in a place of business where they were coworkers. To take what could be a shoving match and turn it into a punching match and then finally bite a piece of someone’s face off, that deserves prison,” Daniels said.

“It was vicious. It was a vicious attack to bite both the victim’s ear and also the victim’s lip, in such an aggressive way that an actual chunk of the lip came off,” Daniels added.

The investigation began about 9:30 a.m. when township police responded to the plant at 1513 North Broad Street for a report of an assault that ended with one man being transported to a local hospital. Company officials told police the physical altercation and assault occurred in the plant’s locker room about 7:30 a.m. during a shift change.

One company official told police he saw a portion of the victim’s “lip was missing and it was later found on the locker room floor at the facility,” Hatfield Police Officer Sean Scanlan alleged in the arrest affidavit.

The portion of the lip was retrieved and turned over to emergency room staff of a local hospital where the victim was treated, according to the criminal complaint.

Another company official told police she saw blood that “looked like spatter” on the face of Webb as he left the facility.

The investigation determined an argument unfolded when the victim, who worked the first shift beginning at 7 a.m., went to the locker room to question Webb, who worked the third shift, about paperwork that Webb was supposed to leave for him, according to the criminal complaint.

Webb allegedly became “agitated” and a verbal argument ensued but it soon turned physical with Webb striking the victim on the right side of the face with a closed fist, Scanlan alleged.

“(The victim) stated that he grabbed Mr. Webb to prevent him from striking him again and Mr. Webb grabbed him by the throat making it difficult to breathe and he was in fear for his life,” Scanlan wrote in the arrest affidavit. “(The victim) stated that, while being choked, Mr. Webb bit him on the lip and then again on his right ear.”

Police observed the victim’s injuries while he was treated at a hospital emergency room.

“I observed that there was a portion of (the victim’s) upper right lip missing. The wound was crescent in shape and was consistent with a bite mark,” Scanlan alleged, adding the victim also sustained a bite mark to his right ear and scratches to his neck and cheek areas.

An emergency room doctor showed police the portion of the victim’s lip that was turned over to medical officials. The doctor told police “that the lip tissue was no longer viable and could not be reattached,” according to court papers.

The doctor added that the victim “would have to consult a plastic surgeon for the portion of his lip that was missing,” Scanlan wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Other charges of strangulation, simple assault and harassment are to be dismissed against Webb at sentencing time in exchange for his guilty plea to the felony aggravated assault charge.

“This was a horrific act.”