There will be no early release for the North Royalton man who attacked North Royalton Police Officer Alexandra Bell in 2019. This ruling comes after two early release hearings in the court of Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel Gaul. John Pugnea had served nine months of his four-to-six-year sentence at the Lorain Correctional Institution, in addition to serving about nine months in jail.
The 58-year-old Pugnea was arrested on August 18, 2019 and indicted in March, 2020, when he pled guilty to one count of Felonious Assault on a Peace Officer and three counts of Aggravated Menacing. According to the North Royalton Police report, a resident called police when he was threatened by another motorist after a driving altercation. The driver called police during the altercation, reporting the license plate number. According to the report, Officer Alexandra Bell spotted the vehicle and followed him back to his house to investigate the threat. The report went on to state that Bell approached the vehicle in the driveway, which appeared to be damaged. She questioned the man about the damage, but he was uncooperative and would not follow the command. He was ordered back in the vehicle, but he refused. He opened his garage door and walked toward it. He was ordered to stop and was told he was under arrest. He continued to ignore orders and resisted when Bell tried to place handcuffs on him. He then turned and attacked the officer, punching her in the face with a closed fist multiple times, saying he was going to kill her. Bell said, “He moved his fingers over my eyes and began to push them into my eye sockets. He then moved his thumbs into my eyes and pushed harder. It felt as though my eyes were going to pop and I screamed for help.” She pepper sprayed him and was then able to hold him at gunpoint. Another officer arrived at the scene and the man was then handcuffed and placed under arrest. The officer was then taken to Southwest General Hospital for treatment to injuries to her eyes and bruises to her face.
Pugnea made his initial appearance in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on August 19, 2019 where bond was set at $500,000. He was also cited for OVI, Operating an Unsafe Vehicle and Aggravated Menacing. He was indicted last year by the Grand Jury on Attempted Murder, Felonious Assault, Assault on a Peace Officer and three counts of Aggravated Menacing. On June 12, 2020, Pugnea was sentenced to four to six years to be served at the Lorain Correctional Institution.
Earlier this year, a request for an early release hearing was scheduled in Gaul’s court, where he granted the early release after Pugnea served nine months of his sentence. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office then filed a motion for reconsideration after it was learned that the victim, Bell, did not receive notification of the hearing, as provided for with Marsy’s Law for Ohio, which was passed by voters in 2017. The law “guarantees equal rights to crime victims in a number of important ways including: Informing victims and their families about their rights and the services available to them; giving them the right to receive notification of proceedings and major developments in a criminal case; protecting their safety by notifying them in a timely manner regarding changes to the offender’s custodial status; and allowing victims and their families to exercise their right to be present – and heard – at court proceedings,” according to the marsylawforoh.com website. A second hearing was then scheduled for March 31.
At the March 31 hearing, more than two dozen people were in attendance in support of Bell. Police Chief Ken Bilinovich addressed the court, stating that, “I feel very betrayed by the system.” He noted that he, his wife and others had also received death threats by Pugnea. Bilinovich stated that “what person would even think of asking to release a guy who almost killed a police officer with his bare hands to get out in less than two years?”
Ohio Sentencing specifications state that if a felony assault for which a person is convicted of, or pleaded guilty involved a police officer, that person is not eligible for early release. Gaul stated at the hearing that he was notified of this an hour before the hearing by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, Michael O’Malley. Due to those specifications, Pugnea is not qualified for early release and the motion for early release was not granted. Judge Daniel Gaul’s Bailiff, Mary Jo Simmerly said that the Judge would not release a statement regarding this matter.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer