Judge orders AIDS testing for man who allegedly bit cop

A man charged with brandishing dining utensils at a Bangor restaurant last month faces a new allegation that he bit a police officer during a courthouse scuffle last week.

A judge’s ruling in the case also set the stage for Daniel Denicola, 44, of Bangor to be tested for human immunodeficiency virus, which would indicate the presence of AIDS.

Denicola was charged Monday with assault on a police officer, a Class C crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Because it is a felony charge, he was not required to enter a plea when he made his initial court appearance Monday in 3rd District Court, the same building where the fracas took place that led to the new charge.

He apparently became angry when, upon entering the building Friday, he was arrested for failing to appear the previous day for a scheduled hearing in his original case.

According to various accounts of the incident, Denicola became upset around 10:30 a.m. while talking with his attorney in a conference room after the arrest and threatened to harm an officer if he was taken to jail.

Officer Ward Gagner later displayed a puncture on his forearm, ostensibly a bite that occurred during a scuffle with Denicola. Several court and other officers subsequently responded to subdue Denicola.

The attorney with whom he was conferring, Terry Harrigan, said Friday that he could not comment on the incident because of lawyer-client confidentiality. On the new charge, Denicola is being represented by a court-appointed attorney, Julio DeSanctis, who said Monday that his client would plead innocent if the case went to Superior Court.

Judge David Cox granted the request by Assistant District Attorney Sharon Silberman-Hummels that a sample of Denicola’s blood be drawn to “test for the HIV virus or other testing as necessary.” A positive HIV test indicates the presence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Denicola was charged in mid-August with criminal threatening after he allegedly pulled a butter knife and a fork on the owner of Gianfranco’s restaurant. The trial on that charge has been scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 13, in District Court.

Because his failure to appear Thursday allegedly violated conditions of his bail, Denicola was taken to Penobscot County Jail after Friday’s incident. He remained there Monday evening in lieu of bail set by Judge David Cox at $5,000 double surety or 50 percent cash.