Man accused in Frisbie security guard's death indicted in earlier knife incident

Richard Semo, left, who died in December; Tyler Thurston is accused in his death. (Semo, Courtesy; Thurston, Rochester Police photo)

ROCHESTER - The New Durham man indicted last month in the December death of a Frisbie Memorial Hospital security guard has been accused of another violent act, a 2019 criminal threatening case in which he brandished a knife during an argument with a man in Somersworth.
Tyler Thurston, 30, is accused of punching Frisbie security guard Richard Semo, 64, in the face around 3:20 a.m. on Dec. 13 in the hospital's emergency room parking lot.
Rochester Police say Semo, of Farmington, a former Marine drill sergeant, then fell hitting his head on the pavement in the hospital's emergency parking lot. He was unresponsive when police found him and died five days later at Portsmouth Regional Hospital from a brain bleed.
The manslaughter charge carries a 15-30 year prison term if convicted.
Thurston's 2019 arrest occurred on Dec. 10, 2019, when he "purposely placed (the victim) in fear of imminent bodily injury ... when he waved a knife, which in the manner it was threatened to be used is known to be capable of producing death ... during the course of an argument (with the victim)," according to court documents.
The Class B felony carries a three and a half to seven year prison terms.
The indictments were handed down on March 9 and released on Friday.
An indictment is not an indication of guilt, rather that enough evidence has been gathered to warrant a trial.