Police: Man attacked after basketball game | Local news

According to online court records, their cases were listed as inactive as of Friday evening, May 31, because the three defendants apparently have not yet been arraigned before Mahady.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case, members of the Latrobe City Police Department were called to the First Ward playground around 9 p.m. on May 2, where a “mother reported that her son had been attacked and jumped by other males following a basketball game.”

The identity of the victim is not disclosed in the bulletin as he is allegedly a victim of an attack.

Police immediately noticed that the victim had “a swollen jaw and blood in her mouth, on her lip and on her shirt,” the criminal complaint states.

The victim told police that after the basketball game, which ended around 8:35 p.m., a “white male approached him and began punching him in the face multiple times.” The victim said he fell to the ground after being hit and then “other white males came over and all began kicking (the victim) while he was on the ground.”

The victim told police he had “several swollen and red abrasions on the upper and middle areas of his back.”

Through investigation, police discovered that one of the suspected male attackers was Shuhart, who arrived at the park in a black sedan and parked in front of Brinker’s vehicle on Oak Street.

When interviewed by investigators on May 4, the victim told police he “‘crossed’ one of the other (players) during the game and some people laughed,” the complaint states. In basketball, getting “crossed” means going to one side while dribbling the basketball, then getting the defender to follow, and then throwing the ball back to the other hand. This maneuver puts the defender off balance and out of position.

According to the victim, at some point afterward, Shuhart “went to his phone and sent a message to someone.” Shortly afterward, a “tall white male with a thin mustache” and brown hair wearing a blue shirt and gray pants showed up. The victim said the man was not playing basketball, but remained near the basketball courts until the end of the game.

After the game ended, the participants wished each other “good game” and went their separate ways, court documents state. The victim walked to his vehicle and “some of the other people followed him.” When the victim got to his vehicle, the unidentified “tall white male with a thin mustache” allegedly “said something to (the victim) and he turned around.”

The victim told police there were four to five people there, including Shuhart. The unidentified white man “started punching (the victim) in the face” before the victim fell backwards and onto the ground. The victim said “the other people there joined in and they all started kicking him in the back and the back of the head while he was on the ground.”

After a short time, the attackers fled the area.

Investigators later reviewed surveillance camera footage from the First Ward Playground and found that what appeared to be three white men gathered on a grassy area next to the basketball courts, waiting for the victim to leave the playground after the game.

One of the other white men was wearing red pants and no shirt, police said.

Upon reviewing the footage, police were able to identify the other two male suspects as Smetanka and Mauk from previous contacts with police.

Investigators said Smetanka was the man wearing red pants and no shirt, while Mauk was the man who waited on the swing before “walking directly behind (the victim) back to the vehicles.”

The victim later viewed a photo lineup at the city police station and clearly identified Smetanka as the attacker, who was wearing red pants and no shirt.

While reviewing still images from the surveillance footage, the victim “pointed to Mauk, who was standing directly behind him, and said that he was the one who punched him in the face.”

Due to the severity of his jaw fractures, the victim had to undergo surgery in mid-May, investigators said.

Mauk, Shuhart and Smetanka are expected to face charges of aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, both first-degree felonies, in addition to second-degree misdemeanors of simple assault and conspiracy to commit simple assault, as well as a charge of harassment.