A Schuylkill County man is facing felony charges after police say he stabbed a man during an altercation and was later found carrying a stolen handgun on Thursday.
Chaze Cholminski, 18, of Pottsville was arraigned early Friday morning on charges including felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, receiving stolen property, and carrying a firearm without a license. He was sent to Schuylkill County Prison after failing to post $150,000 bail set by Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli.
Police say the incident began around 8 p.m. Thursday when they were dispatched to 126 N. Second St. in Saint Clair for a report of a fight in progress. Arriving police found the victim sitting near 117 N. Second St. holding his left rib cage, with his shirt soaked in blood.
The victim suffered two puncture stab wounds to his left rib cage and a 1-inch laceration to his right ear. He was initially transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-East in Pottsville before being flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley-Cedar Crest for advanced treatment.
A juvenile female at the scene told police her boyfriend, Cholminski, stabbed the victim during a physical altercation and fled. Police later located Cholminski on Industrial Park Rd. Upon being stopped, Cholminski reportedly told police the incident was “in self-defense”.
Police say Cholminski was carrying a pocket knife with blood on it. A search of his backpack at the police station revealed a Glock 19 handgun. Police say the firearm had been reported stolen in January.
The victim told police he went to the juvenile female’s residence with a pizza after speaking with her on a TikTok live video, during which she told him to “pull up”. The victim said he became upset upon seeing Cholminski there, leading to a verbal argument. The victim told police they were “in each other’s face” before he shoved Cholminski, starting a physical altercation.
The girl told police the victim pushed her out of the way when she tried to intervene. She said the fight ended up on the ground with the victim on top of Cholminski, refusing to let him up and attempting to choke him, at which point Cholminski stabbed the victim.
Cholminski told police the victim became angry after noticing hickeys on his neck and began “staring him down”. Cholminski claimed he tried to “dab him up” to indicate they “were good”. He told police the victim attempted to punch him multiple times, eventually punching him in the face by swinging over the girl.
Cholminski stated he then pulled out a pocket knife, stabbed the victim twice in the ribs to get him away, and fled because he was scared. Contradicting the juvenile female’s account, Cholminski claimed the fight did not go to the ground and that he stabbed the victim while leaning backward against a porch corner, not knowing what else to do.
Regarding the stolen handgun, Cholminski told police he received it from a friend a couple of days prior and was trying to return it to him.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 23 before Senior Magisterial Judge Edward Lewis.
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