NASHUA – After listening to both sides of the argument regarding whether 22-year-old Litchfield resident Troy Snyder should be jailed for safety reasons, or be released so he can immediately start treatment for his drug addiction, a judge cited the nature of the allegations against Snyder in ordering jail.

Judge Charles Temple handed down his ruling after the prosecutor and defense attorney voiced their respective positions during this week’s bail hearing for Snyder, who is charged with two felony drug possession offenses but also with attacking and strangling a family member in what was described as a violent outburst in a Litchfield home.

Snyder allegedly “kept yelling … screaming” at the alleged victim as he attacked her, according to Assistant County Attorney Brett Harpster, who added that the woman was “screaming for help” from another family member as Snyder allegedly squeezed her throat and neck.

The family member who came to help told police it took him “20-30 seconds to pry (Snyder’s) fingers off” the woman’s throat, according to the reports.

He said he did his best to restrain Snyder, who he described as throwing random punches, as the woman called 911.

When police arrived, officers were able to get handcuffs on Snyder. One took him outside, while the other spoke with the alleged victims.

They charged Snyder with one count of simple assault, a misdemeanor. But upon searching him, they located powder believed to be heroin, and pills of the drug Xanax, which led to two counts of possession of a controlled drug.

Harpster recommended Snyder be jailed on preventive detention, citing the “violent” nature of the alleged assault and recent indications that he is at risk for suicide.

The safety of not only the two alleged victims, but of Snyder himself, could not be assured if he was released on personal recognizance bail, Harpster told the court.

But Snyder’s attorney, Sarah Amorin, argued that her client’s suicide risk is minimal at best.

“An addict overdosing is not a suicide attempt,” she said. “Accidental overdoses happen all the time.

“We know addiction is a disease … (addicts) sometimes say things” they don’t mean. “He doesn’t plan to hurt himself, or anyone else,” Amorin said.

The best place for her client is in a bed at a treatment facility, she added. “He’d like to go right into treatment,” Amorin said in asking for personal recognizance bail.

“He’s not going to get treatment at Valley Street jail.”

Temple said that while he agrees with Amorin that Snyder’s addition is the root of the allegations against him, he nevertheless felt it appropriate to order preventive detention.

He said the court would agree to reduce bail to personal recognizance when Snyder is accepted into a substance abuse treatment program.

“It’s not an easy order for me to make,” Temple said. “But, I think it’s time to put you in a position” to get his life on track.

“You can succeed with treatment. And I hope you succeed,” he said.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, or, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_DeanS.