By Linda Bock
Worcester Telegram & Gazette,
PAXTON, Mass. — An off-duty correction officer who barricaded himself in his house for more than two hours Sunday was ordered held without bail yesterday after his arraignment in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield on criminal charges, according to the district attorney’s office.
Bruce Bazinet, 50, a sergeant at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction in West Boylston, was taken into custody Sunday night after a two-hour standoff with police at his house at 100 Laurel St. The initial information received by the state police was that Sgt. Bazinet was potentially suicidal and was armed with a rifle and several handguns, according to a state police news release.
He was arraigned yesterday on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon (handgun) and violation of an abuse prevention order. After a dangerousness hearing, Judge Janet J. McGuiggan found Sgt. Bazinet to be dangerous and ordered him held without bail, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. His case was continued to Thursday.
A state police negotiator made contact with Sgt. Bazinet at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and he surrendered soon after. He was taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester for evaluation.
Sgt. Bazinet will remain out of work indefinitely, according to a statement released this morning by the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department.
The Police Department took possession of his department-issued firearm, as well as other weapons in the home. Paxton police are expected to return his department-issued firearm to the Sheriff Department’s office this week, according to Jason W. Rives, chief of staff for Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis.
Sgt. Bazinet graduated from the jail’s correction officer training academy in 1994. He started work as a temporary correction officer Sept. 20, 1993, was made a permanent employee Dec. 11, 1994, and was promoted to sergeant on Feb. 9, 2003.
Copyright 2012 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.