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WEIRTON -- A Steubenville man has been charged with assault on a health care provider for allegedly holding a knife to a nurse at Weirton Medical Center, where he was being treated.
Ricky D. Barnett, 54, of 133 Water St., was arrested on the charge by Weirton Police after officers were called to the hospital at about 12:20 a.m. Friday.
According to a court document, a nurse at the hospital told police she was responding to a patient alert light in Barnett's room where she found him in bed, with blood nearby.
The nurse said she advised she would need to check him and he agreed but when she lifted his blanket, he became irate and left the room.
According to the document, she told deputies when she approached Barnett near the floor's fire exit, he pulled from his pocket and unfolded a silver, bladed knife and held it near her neck, verbally threatening her.
When another nurse told her to let him go, he entered an elevator.
Officers dispatched to the scene said they found Barnhart laying face down in grass on property adjacent to the hospital, apparently attempting to hide, while a security guard and other staff approached.
Attempts to obtain comment from Weirton Medical Center were not successful.