Man Accused of Punching Workers at Vaccine Site, Groping nurse

A man is charged with battery and resisting arrest after allegedly punching two medical assistants at a Southern California COVID-19 vaccination clinic and then groping a nurse at a nearby hospital.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Thomas Apollo, 44, was asked to leave the Families Together clinic in Tustin on December 30 for refusing to wear a mask at the facility.

The office accuses Apollo of a bizarre pattern of behavior in which he allegedly called clinic workers “murderers” and used “expletives” at employees who asked him to wear a mask or go outside. His charges stem from an incident in which he allegedly punched one medical assistant five times and another assistant twice.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Apollo was restrained by bystanders until police arrived.

When officers arrived, he was reportedly tased so that he could be handcuffed.

Later, while being treated for cuts and scrapes from the previous incident, Apollo was accused of “grabbing a nurse’s finger and bending it” as well as groping her at the Orange County Global Medical Center.

“Instead of being treated with the same compassion and respect with which they treat their patients, these healthcare workers were punched in the face and physically assaulted for just trying to do their jobs,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a release. “Violence of any kind will not be tolerated and we will hold this individual accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Apollo is now facing four misdemeanor charges, including two counts of battery, one count of battery on a nurse, and one count of resisting arrest. If convicted of all charges, he faces up to three years in the Orange County Jail.

Apollo is scheduled to appear in court on March 30 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana