TV handyman arrested in Amherst assault
Andrew Dan-Jumbo, the cable TV home-improvement celebrity, has been arrested again in Western New York, this time following a domestic incident in Amherst.
Dan-Jumbo, 44, who has starred on The Learning Channel’s “While You Were Out” and “Take Home Handyman,” surrendered to Amherst police last week on charges of third-degree assault, petit larceny and harassment.
The charges stemmed from a domestic incident on March 26 in Amherst, where Dan-Jumbo was accused of having a confrontation with a woman believed to be either his ex-wife or ex-girlfriend. The incident occurred in the Eggertsville home of a male relative of Dan-Jumbo’s.
“It was a physical confrontation, and the victim sustained possibly a broken wrist,” Amherst Assistant Police Chief Timothy Green said.
Following the incident, the victim filed a complaint with Amherst police. The department’s Family Offense Unit investigated the complaint and contacted Dan- Jumbo, letting him know that he was wanted on the two misdemeanors and one violation.
During his arraignment before Amherst Town Justice Mark G. Farrell on July 1, Dan-Jumbo pleaded not guilty and was released on $2,500 cash bail. He has lived in Buffalo, but Dan-Jumbo gave police an Annapolis, Md., address.
The misdemeanor assault charge represents Dan-Jumbo’s second brush with the local law.
On June 1, 2007, Dan-Jumbo was charged with criminal trespass while attending a charity event at the American Red Cross’s local headquarters on Delaware Avenue. Buffalo police said they arrested him after the director of the charity event repeatedly told him to leave and he refused.
A City Court judge dismissed the misdemeanor charge two weeks later when Dan-Jumbo’s attorney said there was no proof that “someone with authority” had asked him to leave the M*A*S*H Bash event.
After the charge was thrown out, Dan-Jumbo called the incident an unpleasant experience, saying it was unfortunate.
“I’d just like to move forward,” he told reporters at the time.
