Jan 20, 2018 2 min read

CHARLEROI – A fight on a street in downtown Charleroi Thursday sent one man to a hospital with three stab wounds and another to Washington County jail.

Charleroi Regional police charged the alleged assailant, Samuel Thornton, 60, of 565 Highland Ave., North Charleroi, with aggravated assault in the 2 p.m. fight in the 500 block of Fallowfield Avenue, court records show.

The victim, Desmond Joseph Ham, 37, of 531 Fallowfield Ave., was treated at Mon Valley Hospital for a small cut to his forehead and lacerations to his chest and stomach, police stated in the affidavit supporting the criminal charges in the case.

Police also charged Ham with simple assault over allegations he spit at Thornton before punching him during the disturbance that began inside Kay’s Cleaning, 531 Fallowfield, and then spilled outside.

Officers later observed video surveillance and watched the fight take place, but the stabbing was obscured by a bus that drove through the area, police said.

The video did show Ham lifting his shirt and noticing he had been stabbed. The weapon was not immediately recovered by police. Ham’s injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

Police said the fight escalated after Thornton became belligerent in Kay’s and Ham told him to leave, saying he didn’t want his business.

Thornton also faces charges of simple assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. He was jailed on $75,000 bond set by District Judge Larry Hopkins. Ham will receive his charge in a summons.