A Schuylkill County man was jailed after police say home security video captured him mockingly tell a lifelong friend to “go to sleep” before repeatedly punching him in the face for more than a minute during a dispute over a hidden handgun.
Joshua King, 40, of Schuylkill Haven, was committed to the Schuylkill County Prison after failing to post 10% of $20,000 monetary bail at his arraignment early Tuesday morning. He’s being charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault.
Police in Schuylkill Haven say they were dispatched to the 600 block of N. Garfield Ave. for a fight in progress after three witnesses called to report the incident. Upon arrival, police observed King walking down the sidewalk and located the victim getting to his feet in the shadows about 100 yards away with his face covered in blood.
The victim suffered severe swelling to his left cheek and left ear, a cut and swelling above his right eye, and blood all over his nose and mouth, police say. He told police he was dizzy, and EMS expedited their response due to the severity of the injuries. Police say the victim smelled strongly of alcohol but did not act particularly intoxicated, while King was visibly drunk, swaying, and slurring his words.
The victim told police he had received a request from King’s family to talk with King about his behavior. He alleged King attacked him out of nowhere and repeatedly punched him in the face multiple times while he begged him to stop.
Once in custody, King told police the victim had actually brought a gun to the incident, which was the reason he beat him up. King claimed he and the victim, who are lifelong friends, were drinking inside a residence for over half an hour when the victim pulled a black High Point pistol from his front pants pocket, placed it on a table, and said something to the effect of “you’re going to do what I say, or else.”
King told police he snuck the gun away and hid it upstairs when he went to the bathroom, prompting the victim to search for the weapon and accuse King of taking it.
A witness who lives across the street told police she was unloading groceries around 8:30 p.m. when the victim arrived and walked into the house unannounced, which she noted was not unusual given their close relationship. King told police the victim had threatened to “kick his ass,” but King said he took it in a “brotherly way.”
The two men ended up in a dirt parking lot near the victim’s vehicle looking for the gun. Shortly after midnight, home security video captured the victim walking up to a camera and saying, “I can’t find my gun,” and, “I lost it, it was in my waist, we were fighting.” Police noted the victim already had a bleeding cut above his right eye and a swollen protrusion on his left cheekbone at this time.
The victim then returned to the residence screaming about his gun, police say. Additional video from just before 12:30 a.m. showed King walking north on N. Garfield Ave. with no shirt on, followed by the victim.
The victim can be heard on video saying, “Just give me my gun and we’ll deal with the sh** then.”
King replied, “I don’t have your gun. Come here,” before mockingly saying, “go to sleep boy, go to sleep,” police say.
A 23-second video captured King crossing his arms as the victim walked to within an arm’s reach of him. King then swung at the victim first, police say.
Audio from another camera captured King beating the victim for over a minute, with the victim yelling for help and pleading for King to stop for the final 30 seconds of the recording.
When police interviewed King and asked if the victim was indicating he was trying to fight, King repeatedly told police the victim just wanted his gun back.
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