Executive from CT accused of MA stabbing in front of kids remains held without bond, attorney says

A Wilton man accused of stabbing two men while they were camping with their children in Massachusetts last weekend remains held without bond after a hearing scheduled for Thursday in Central District Court in Pittsfield was cancelled.

Jeffrey DeLuca, 47, was arrested July 18 after police said he attacked two friends at a campground in Lanesborough, Mass., an incident an attorney who initially represented him, Alex Schmulsky, attributed to an "acute psychological reaction" after eating cannabis-infused gummy bears.

DeLuca's newly hired attorney, Luke Ryan, said by phone Thursday he would need "a couple of days" to schedule a hearing in which he plans to argue for the release of his client while the matter is pending.

DeLuca is charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of reckless endangerment of a child, two counts of armed assault to murder and one count of assault causing serious bodily injury.

At his arraignment Monday, a judge ordered DeLuca be put on a 120-day hold for "dangerousness," according to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office.

He was initially represented by Schmulsky, who said Wednesday he planned to ask a judge on Thursday to argue either to set a bond that could be posted or allow DeLuca to go free on a written promise to appear. With the hearing cancelled, Ryan said he may file the same motion within a couple of days.

In the incident at a Mount Greylock campsite, police say one man was stabbed in the chest and the other in the torso in an "unprovoked attack" in front of their young children.

A person close to the case confirmed that DeLuca is the husband of Ruth DeLuca, the chairperson of the Wilton Board of Education. Property records also show the couple own the same home in Wilton for which they paid $24,000 in taxes last year.

Wilton school officials and Ruth DeLuca have not returned phone calls seeking comment.

Jeffrey DeLuca serves as a group vice president for workforce strategy and operations at Ross Stores Inc, a discount retail clothing chain. A representative for the California-based company said DeLuca goes by his middle name of Damien. "He is still on the roster (of employees)," she said when asked for his employment status.

The two injured men were taken to the Berkshire Regional Medical Center for treatment and later released, according to Lanesborough Police Chief Robert J. Derksen. 

Derksen said police responded to the campground around 8:15 p.m. July 18 for a reported stabbing.

One of the victims said he didn't know he had been stabbed, Derksen said, believing he had "been bumped in the shoulder." The other ordered DeLuca to stop, Derksen said.