DUBOIS – Two DuBois man accused of robbing, assaulting and stealing money from a DuBois man were scheduled for preliminary hearings during centralized court on Friday.
Alexander C. Bohensky, 25, and Matthew Wayne Pearson II, 27, were both charged with two felony counts of robbery, and misdemeanor simple assault as well as felony theft by unlawful taking in connection with an incident in DuBois City on Sept. 28.
Pearson waived his right to a preliminary hearing on all charges and his bail was lowered from $250,000 to $25,000, unsecured, according to online court documents.
After a hearing, Bohensky had one of the robbery and one of the assault charges withdrawn. All the other charges were held to court. He is being held without bail.
According to the affidavits of probable cause, police were called to the residence in response to a report of a man and woman arguing.
When they arrived, they learned the man had been assaulted by two men who took over $4,200 from him. The perpetrators had fled the scene, but a witness said she thought they may be at a Grant Street residence.
Police responded to that address where a woman gave them access to the home and permission to search for the two suspects.
Pearson was reportedly found on the second floor and Bohensky was hiding under a blanket between a washing machine and wall.
Police say Person had $2,500 in cash and Bohensky had $2,260, all in twenties.
The victim and witness told investigators that both men were in his home when the two started to fight with him. The witness tried to get between the three of them, but was pushed away.
She said they took the victim to the ground and struck him with closed fists. While he was down, they reportedly continued to strike and kick him.
One of them said “I got it! Come on!” before fleeing, according to the criminal complaint.
When they were gone, the victim checked his pockets and discovered they had taken the cash from him, he told police.
He had this amount of cash on hand to pay attorney fees totaling $4,000, but he had a few hundred more then he owed, he explained. The money was all in twenties.
An officer noted in the report that the victim had visible bruising and abrasions on his face and arms.
Once in custody, Bohensky refused to answer questions without an attorney. Pearson agreed to speak with investigators, admitting he fought with the victim but denying the robbery allegations, police said.
In an unrelated case, Bohensky is charged with flight to avoid apprehension, fleeing or attempting to elude police, both felonies and four misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and habitual offenders along with several traffic summaries.
There was a hearing in this case after which the flight to avoid apprehension charge was withdrawn.
The criminal complaint in this case details how police were looking for Bohensky to serve a warrant on him at a nearby residence when they saw him on a motorcycle at a light at the intersection with Interstate 80 in Sandy Township on June 24.
After he spotted police, he fled onto the interstate where he traveled at speeds up to 130 mph.
He “operated in a reckless manner by passing several vehicles on the berm and weaving in and out of traffic,” the affidavit says.
Eventually police lost sight of him because of two trucks they could not get around. The chase lasted about 10 miles.
The motorcycle was later discovered at a location in Penfield.
Felony drug charges, felony firearm charges and more in connection to an incident in May were withdrawn in a third case against Bohensky.