An Oil City man is facing several assault charges stemming from an incident earlier this month that sent one man to the hospital.
A criminal complaint filed by Oil City police with district judge Andrew Fish says officers were sent to the 200 block of Pine Street at about 10 p.m. July 7 for reports of a man lying in the street.
The man was sent to UPMC Northwest for treatment and then he was transferred to UPMC Hamot in Erie after hospital personnel determined he had bleeding on his brain, the complaint said.
Witnesses said the injured man had been intoxicated and was making vulgar remarks to people in the East End neighborhood, the complaint said. Police said Joel S. Rinker, 22, intervened and told the man to stop before returning to his porch.
The man approached Rinker again, the complaint said, and continued to make remarks before Rinker jumped off the porch and punched the man in the face hard enough for him to fall backwards and strike his head on the street, the complaint said. Rinker then climbed on top of the man and hit him again before he realized he was unconscious, police said.
Rinker then dragged the man across the street and laid him down on the sidewalk instead of calling police, the complaint said.
The injured man’s brother told Oil City police chief Bob Wenner late last week that the man is still in UPMC Hamot and that his condition hasn’t improved and he continues to suffer from mini-strokes.
Rinker was arraigned by Fish on Friday on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment. He was lodged in the Venango County jail after he failed to post $75,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled Wednesday in Venango County Central Court.
