OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) — An Oil City man faces several charges after a violent assault in July left another man hospitalized.

According to court documents, on Friday, July 29, Joel Stuart Rinker, 22, of Oil City, was arraigned by District Magistrate Andrew Fish on the following charges:

• Aggravated Assault, Felony
• Simple Assault, Misdemeanor
• Harassment, Summary

Unable to post $75,000.00 monetary bail, he was lodged in the Venango County Jail.

Details of the Incident

According to a criminal complaint, Oil City Police Officers were sent to the 200 block of Pine Street around 10:00 p.m., on Thursday, July 7, for a report of a man lying in the street. The known man was sent to UPMC Northwest for treatment. He was transferred to UPMC Hamot in Erie after hospital personnel determined he had bleeding on his brain.

Witnesses said the injured man had been intoxicated and was making vulgar remarks to people in the East End neighborhood. Police said Joel S. Rinker intervened and told the man to stop before returning to his porch, the complaint indicates.

According to the complaint, the known man approached Rinker again and continued to make remarks before Rinker allegedly jumped off the porch and punched the man in the face hard enough for him to fall backward and strike his head on the street. It is alleged that Rinker then climbed on top of the man and hit him again before he realized he was unconscious.

Rinker then allegedly dragged the man across the street and laid him on the sidewalk instead of calling police, the complaint states.

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, the complaint continues.

A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday in Venango County Central Court.