Boardman man faces charge of aggravated menacing

The suspect pleaded
innocent Wednesday.

AUSTINTOWN — A Boardman man is charged with aggravated menacing after a confrontation with police at an Austintown woman’s home.

The confrontation escalated until the man was shot with a stun gun, a police report says.

Jeffrey M. Colasante pleaded innocent Wednesday in County Court in Austintown. The court is transferring his case because of a conflict of interest.

Colasante was charged Sunday after the confrontation at 12:44 a.m. on Amberly Drive, the report says.

Colasante was highly agitated and intoxicated when a police officer arrived at the residence, the report says. He insisted his car keys were inside, but the woman said she didn’t know where the keys were.

Colasante became enraged and began destroying the steering column in his car in an effort to start it, police said. The officer offered to contact a towing company for him, but Colasante refused.

He then looked directly at the officer and threatened to kill the woman, the report says.

The officer told Colasante that he was under arrest on the aggravated menacing charge and attempted to grab Colasante’s arm.

Colasante jerked away and squared off with one fist clenched and a screwdriver in the other, the report says.

The officer pointed his Taser at Colasante and ordered him to drop the screwdriver, the report says.

Colasante told the officer he didn’t care if he shot him with the stun gun, the report says. After the officer told him again to drop the screwdriver, he again said he didn’t care if he was stunned.

The report says the officer deployed the stun gun and hit Colasante in the upper torso. He fell to the ground, was put in handcuffs, taken to the police department, then released on a summons.