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Man Arrested for Stabbing Watermelon in 'Passive-Aggressive' Manner

By Daniel Taylor, Esq. on July 16, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A Connecticut man was arrested after police say he stabbed a watermelon with a butcher knife in a "passive aggressive" manner.

Carmine Cervillino, 49, of Thomaston, was picked up by police after his wife claimed he left the watermelon, pierced by a large butcher knife, on the kitchen counter to "intimidate her because he is angry at her," The Register-Citizen reports.

What did the woman do to draw Cervillino's watermelon-stabbing ire, and what charges is this allegedly passive-aggressive fruit slayer now facing?

Police say the arrest stems from an incident in which Cervillino's wife found marijuana and prescription pills hidden in his tool box and reported finding the drugs to police. The two were going through divorce proceedings at the time, according to Reuters.

When Cervillino's wife returned home, she says she found the watermelon with the knife stuck in it on a kitchen counter top. Cervillino then entered and began chopping up the fruit without speaking; his wife took a picture of the knife.

Police called it "a domestic violence situation, which we take very seriously."

Threatening, Disorderly Conduct Alleged

Cervillino was charged with second degree threatening, which under Connecticut law makes it a misdemeanor to use physical threats to intentionally place or attempt to place another in fear of immediate fear of serious physical injury. The Connecticut statute notes that "the conduct of a person, even without words, may be sufficient to cause fear in another person."

Cervillino was also charged with disorderly conduct, which makes it a crime to disturb the peace by behaving in a disruptive manner. It should be noted that Connecticut's disorderly conduct law includes conduct intended to cause "inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm" including "threatening behavior."

So does a knife stuck in a watermelon rise to the level of threatening behavior? We have yet to hear Cervillino's side of the story, but a court will eventually have to make that determination based on the evidence. Cervillino is currently free on $500 bond and is due back in court August 28.

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