GRAMERCY — A bar manager was threatened by a knife-wielding man early Sunday morning after trying to stop him from hurling his backpack through the glass front door, police said.
The manager of Triona’s on Third, at 192 Third Ave. near East 17th Street, was working at about 3:30 a.m. when Jerron Blencowe, 21, tried to hurl his backpack through the glass front door of the bar. When the manager confronted him, Blencowe pulled out a switchblade and told him, “I’ll slice you up,” according to a criminal complaint.
Police responding to a 911 call found Blencowe arguing with several people, who notified the officers about Blencowe’s earlier threats. Blencowe took off running, but police caught up with him several blocks away and wrestled him to the ground as he fought their attempts to handcuff him, police said.
After arresting him, the officers found a switchblade in his pocket, according to a criminal complaint.
Back at the bar, Blencowe's friend Shaquill Griffith, 21, smashed the glass door and causing more than $250 in damage, according to a criminal complaint.
Officers caught up with him about a half-hour later and arrested him as well, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors charged Griffith with criminal mischief and Blencowe with charges of menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest, according to court records.
A judge released both men without bail, and the pair are due back in court on May 23, according court records.
Lawyers for the men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A bartender at Triona's declined to comment.
