Police: Springfield man sprayed couple with acid

Police say a man threw acid on a couple during a confrontation earlier this week in west Springfield.

Joseph E. Mangione, 27, was charged Tuesday with second-degree assault after allegedly sending two people to the hospital with chemical burns.

According to a probable cause statement, a couple confronted Mangione on Sunday afternoon when he was riding his bicycle in the area of Grand Street and West Bypass to talk with him about an earlier incident in which Mangione allegedly sprayed the woman with mace.

The man got out of his car to confront Mangione, when Mangione thrust a bottle at the man, spilling suspected acid on the man’s arm, back and leg and also splashing onto the woman’s arm, according to the statement.

The couple felt a burning sensation where the liquid touched their skin and they drove to the hospital to be treated for chemical burns, the statement says.

The next day, the statement says, Mangione went to a home on the 2900 block of West Catalpa Street with a pump sprayer containing an unknown liquid looking for the man.

The resident of the home told police Mangione said he was looking for the man because he “had some more acid for him,” the statement says.

Mangione was arrested later that night, and police found a pump sprayer nearby, according to the statement.

The statement says Mangione was visibly impaired and admitted to using “a lot of meth.”

Mangione told police the couple struck him with their car Sunday, and he denied throwing acid on anyone, according to the statement.

Mangione is being held in the Greene County Jail on $10,000 bond. He does not have an attorney listed for this case.

A bond recommendation document says Mangione has prior convictions for domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

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