Man accused of felony aggravated assault following West Deer bar fight

A West Deer man faces a felony aggravated assault charge after, police say, he hit a man with a pool cue.

Michael Richard Skiles, 49, was arrested and charged Friday. A preliminary hearing before District Judge Tom Swan is scheduled for Jan. 24.

West Deer police said they, along with Northern Regional police, were dispatched at 10:07 p.m. Friday to Lenny’s Bar on Bakerstown-Culmerville Road for a fight between Skiles and another man.

When officers arrived, they found one man with a gash on his head and “a large hematoma on the other side” and requested emergency medical services, according to a criminal complaint.

The injured man told police that he and Skiles were playing pool and Skiles had won the game, police said. The man said he approached Skiles to congratulate him on winning and while doing so, Skiles “hit him over the head several times with a pool stick,” the complaint said.

The man’s girlfriend, who is a nurse, wrapped a towel around his head to stop the bleeding, police said. When she removed the towel, police saw a “small but deep gash” on the right side of the man’s head and blood dripping down his head and onto his shirt, according to the complaint.

He also had a mark on his forehead “which looked consistent with a pool stick handle,” the complaint said.

Skiles told police that after he had won the pool game, the man grabbed him by the neck “in an intimidating manner which made him fear for his safety and well-being,” police said.

Skiles said he hit the man with his pool cue as self-defense. Police asked Skiles whether his breathing was restricted when the man grabbed his neck, and Skiles said it was not, according to the complaint.

While EMS was treating the man, the bar owner arrived to show police security camera footage, the complaint said.

Police watched the video and determined that the man lost the second game of pool to Skiles, shook Skiles’ hand and, while doing so, grabbed the back of Skiles’ neck with his left hand, authorities said. The man is seen whispering something in Skiles’ ear and pushing him, police said.

After being pushed, Skiles took his pool cue by the skinny end and swung five times at the man, hitting him in the head or shoulders each time, police said.

Bar patrons broke up the fight before officers arrived, the complaint said.

Police arrested Skiles at the scene and told the other man that he could be charged with harassment for his actions leading up to the fight, the complaint said.

The man had not been charged as of Monday morning, according to the court docket. His girlfriend drove him to a hospital.