Deputies: Doc's Helper Choked with Stethoscope Over Painkiller Dispute

A 52-year-old Englewood man faces aggravated battery charges after Sarasota County deputies say he choked a physician’s assistant using the medical professional’s own stethoscope.

The incident unfolded Monday at the Sarasota Family Medical & Urgent Care clinic, 6813 S. Tamiami Trail. Deputies say that John Connolly walked into the office around 10:45 a.m. to complain about a pain medication that had been previously prescribed to him.

When Jeffrey Goldstein, 37, a physician’s assistant, explained the prescription couldn’t be changed, Connolly is accused of yelling profanities at him. Connolly was asked to leave the building.

He did just that, but returned moments later, a probable cause affidavit states.

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When Connolly returned, the affidavit states, he walked toward the back of the building, found Goldstein in a hallway and “lunged towards” him.

“Connolly then took the stethoscope, which was around Goldstein’s neck, and began choking him with it,” the report states.

Unable to breathe, Goldstein was rescued by a witness who was able to pull Connelly off the man, the report notes.

Goldstein suffered marks and bruising to his neck during the attack.

Connolly was arrested around 2:45 p.m. in Englewood. He now faces aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges. Connolly was being held in the Sarasota County Jail Tuesday without bond, jail records indicate.

Booking photo courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office

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