DUBOIS – A bench warrant has been issued for 20-year-old Joshua L. Coffey after he failed to appear for a preliminary hearing Friday before Magisterial District Judge Patrick N. Ford in DuBois.
All charges were held to court against Coffey, including a felony count of aggravated assault and lesser charges of simple assault and harassment, after the hearing was held in Coffey’s absence.
Testimony in the case began with Brad Elliot of DuBois, Coffey’s brother-in-law.
Elliot said he, his wife and some friends had gathered at the couple’s apartment June 29 when Coffey arrived and asked if anyone had a cigarette. No one did, and that’s when Elliot said things went wrong.
“He basically went nuts and started beating on another friend of mine,” he said.
Coffey left the second-floor apartment after an altercation in the hallway, throwing a beer bottle at the residence’s balcony.
The alleged victim in the case, Elliot said, went downstairs to confront Coffey.
“[The victim] was probably upset and tried to go down and finish it,” he said.
Elliot said Coffey kicked the man in the face at least five times after he had fallen to the ground. After the altercation, Elliot saw an injury to the man’s eye.
“I know that once he gets too far, he’ll just stop and walk away,” Elliot said of Coffey.
The alleged victim testified that he had been drinking on the night of the incident and did not remember much of what happened.
He said he remembered stepping onto the second or third step, but after that, he blacked out.
“It cold be a combination of adrenaline, alcohol and getting hit. I don’t know.”
After the incident, he was taken to DuBois Regional Medical Center where he received four stitches near his eye, bruises and a nose injury.
Of Coffey, the alleged victim said, “I would consider him to be a threat at about any given moment. He is very unstable.”
Mike Marshall, Coffey’s attorney, argued that the most serious of the charges, aggravated assault, should be dismissed.
“The way this went down … going to the parking lot to confront the defendant …,” he said, adding that the incident was a mutual fight. He said his client stopped “when he got the better of the fight.”
Clearfield County Assistant District Attorney Leanne Nedza said Elliot testified that Coffey kicked the alleged victim five — if not more — times and kicked the man when he was already down.
Ford said, “I agree,” holding all charges to court.
While the case will be added to the trial list, a bench warrant was issued for Coffey.
Speculation following the hearing was that he had moved to Emporium.
