Gunshot fired during bar brawl in California Borough
A late-night bar brawl in California Borough last month ended when a man allegedly pistol whipped another person in the head, causing the firearm to accidentally discharge.
The three men charged in connection with the fight in the early morning hours of Feb. 5 outside of Legends Bar at 153 Wood St. that left one man unconscious appeared for their preliminary hearings Tuesday before District Judge Joshua Kanalis.
Joey Lipscomb faces the most serious charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after California Borough police said he got involved in the fight and struck another man with his handgun and it fired. No one was struck by the bullet, although police said there was a large crowd in the area when the gun fired.
Lipscomb, 27, of Monessen, waived his case to court after prosecutors agreed to drop one felony charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure. Lipscomb has been held without bond at the Washington County jail since his arrest, but his attorney, Blaine Jones II, successfully argued that he should be offered bail after Kanalis agreed to set a cash bond at $500,000.
After the hearing, Jones said his client never intended to fire his handgun, which Lipscomb allegedly pulled out to strike Elijah Brown in the head. Jones said Lipscomb’s girlfriend was assaulted at some point during the melee, which is why he came to her defense at the end of the fight. Jones added Lipscomb had a license to carry the firearm and did not have a criminal record until charges were filed against him in this case.
Brown, 23, of Brownsville, suffered a concussion and needed 10 stitches to close the wound on his head. Court documents indicated he was taken to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital for treatment after the brawl.
He was initially charged with simple assault, but prosecutors agreed to withdraw the case against him after his defense attorney, Lane Turturice, pointed out that his client was the victim in the fight. Brown attended the proceedings Tuesday and was prepared to testify, if needed.
Also charged in the fight are Thaddeus August King Jr., 22, of California, and Jon Ray Keith Kennedy, 29, of Allenport, both of whom face counts of aggravated assault and simple assault. California police said Kennedy and Brown were fighting when King joined the fray. Investigators said both Kennedy and King kicked Brown in the head while he was in the crowd.
King, who is free on $50,000 cash bond, waived his case to court before the hearing. Kennedy, who is being held at the Washington County jail on $50,000 cash bond, did not have an attorney at the hearing, so Kanalis agreed to continue the proceeding until March 14.