‘Blew a kiss’: Tenant pushes landlord off scaffolding after being mocked for getting upset over owner’s ‘loud music’ and ‘singing while putting up siding,’
Inset: Michael Besozzi II (Brooke County Prosecuting Attorney). The home in Weirton, W. Va., where prosecutors say Michael Besozzi caused his landlord to fall off scaffolding following a dispute over loud music (Google Maps).
A Weirton, West Virginia man has been sentenced to one to five years in prison after an altercation with his landlord led to a serious fall and injuries, prosecutors announced.
Michael Besozzi II, 36, entered an Alford plea to unlawful assault stemming from an April 2024 incident in which his landlord fell from scaffolding outside a home on Elmer Avenue. An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a conviction.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime, Besozzi confronted his landlord, identified as Mr. Barger, for “playing loud music and singing while putting up siding.” The exchange reportedly escalated after the landlord “blew a kiss” at Besozzi. Prosecutors say Besozzi then shook and pushed the scaffolding, causing the landlord to fall and suffer a separated shoulder and torn rotator cuff.
Besozzi told investigators he only “grabbed the scaffolding in a stern manner” and denied shaking it. Officers arrived at the scene to find the landlord being treated by emergency medical personnel before being transported to a hospital.
The case was initially charged as misdemeanor assault but later elevated to felony unlawful assault. The Brooke County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced Besozzi’s sentence on Saturday.
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