FARMINGTON — A local man accused of beating a man with a flashlight last Saturday was arrested on new charges after police did a bail check on him Thursday at his apartment, police Chief Jack Peck said.

Officer William Tanner and Sgt. Michael Adcock went to Justin Crowley-Smilek’s 125 Court St. home at about 5:45 p.m. to check on him and discovered a large machete and 61 mature marijuana plants about 3 feet tall, Peck said. He estimated the street value of the plants at between $500 to $1,000 each.

Crowley-Smilek was arrested on charges of violating condition of release and cultivating marijuana, Peck said.

His bail was set Friday at $2,500 cash on the violating condition of release charge, a corrections officer said.

A judge ordered Crowley-Smilek to be held without bail on an aggravated assault charge in connection with the Jan. 8 incident, he said.

Crowley-Smilek was arrested last Saturday after police were called to the parking lot of the Front Street Tavern in Farmington for a man who had been assaulted.

Police say a man who was sleeping in his car suffered serious injuries when he was beaten on the head and face with an aluminum flashlight for refusing to give two men a ride.

Crowley-Smilek was initially arrested on a charge of elevated aggravated assault, but it was lowered to aggravated assault during a court appearance Monday. His bail was also lowered from $10,000 cash to $1,500 and a pre-trial service agreement.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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