'American fugitive' made staff at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University hospital 'flee for their safety'

A man accused of being US fugitive Nicholas Rossi is said to have made senior hospital staff flee from him in fear for their safety.

Arthur Knight, 35, allegedly behaved in a threatening or abusive manner at a ward at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on July 5, 2022.

Consultant Evelyn Millar claimed wheelchair-bound Knight jumped out of bed and ran at her and nurse Yasmin Bagli.

The pair told Glasgow Sheriff Court this occurred after telling him he was fit to be discharged home.

They added Knight – who uses an oxygen mask – was also verbally abusive and allegedly told them to “shut the f*** up”.

Court papers state Knight goes by other names such as Nicholas Rossi, Nicholas Alahverdian, Nicholas Brown, Arthur Winston Brown and Arthur Knight Brown.

Knight is stated to be on bail from Edinburgh Sheriff Appeal Court where he faces extradition to the USA in relation to an alleged sex attack.

Knight has been stated in court as being a registered sex offender accused of other crimes including fraud and sexual battery.

The court heard from Dr Millar, 58, who stated that her patient was known to her as “Arthur Knight Brown”.

She claimed she was able to speak to Brown – who was lying in bed – on her third attempt with nurse Bagli as he was asleep.

Prosecutor Julie Clark asked if the doctor formed an opinion about his accent.

She replied: “I can’t really remember, when he spoke he had an oxygen mask on and it’s difficult to be clear.”

She added that she believed Knight to be immobile and he was initially “quite calm”.

The witness said: “I wasn’t sure what he was going to say but we listened to him and he made it clear he was not happy with the care we were giving him and not happy about the prospect of being medically discharged home.”

Dr Millar stated Knight then made “obscenities” and used the “F word” on a regular basis.

She said: “He became more aggressive and jumped off the bed and that’s when I realised he wasn’t happy about things.

“He leapt off the bed and started coming towards us – he came off the bed at a very rapid speed.

“As he came towards us, he was inches from our faces, we were utterly terrified, we thought he was coming to harm us.

“Yasmin said ‘run’ and I said ‘yes’ and we literally ran from the room – it was extremely frightening.”

Ms Clark asked if Knight had his oxygen mask on.

Dr Millar replied: “As he came towards us the mask came off, he was saying a lot without the oxygen mask being on.”

Ms Clark then asked what the witness believed caused the incident.

She replied: “I don’t think he wanted to be discharged home – that’s my opinion or not happy with our plan for discharge.”

The witness stated that she and nurse Bagli were sent home from work and did not return for two days.

David Kinloch, defending, said: “Is it possible the reason he had, assuming on your evidence he was shouting, swearing and jumping out of bed, is that he was suffering from a seizure?”

Dr Millar replied: “I’m quite confident it wasn’t a seizure.”

Mr Kinloch: “Can you rule it out entirely?”

Dr Millar: “Yes, most doctors are trained to recognise seizures.”

Nurse Bagli, 27, told the court that Knight had been admitted to A and E for “coloristic chest pain and seizures”.

She claimed that Knight told them to “shut the f*** up” when it was revealed he would be discharged.

The witness claimed that she ran as she thought she was “going to be put in harm”.

The nurse stated that she locked herself in a different ward for her safety after the incident.

She added that she returned to Knight’s room five minutes later where he was “sitting on the floor” and shouting.

The trial continues before Sheriff Joseph Platt.