Area man held for trial
William Henry Fitzgerald, 29, was ordered held for court on assault and false imprisonment charges Monday after his alleged victim testified that he recognized Fitzgerald as one of five masked and armed attackers by his voice. District Justice Mark Blair held Fitzgerald on charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, recklessly endangering another person, criminal conspiracy and two counts of simple assault filed by Uniontown police.
Fitzgerald was released on bond and the case against him will be forwarded to Common Pleas Court.
Blair dismissed charges of robbery, unlawful restraint, terroristic threats, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and burglary.
The victim, Armed Middleton, 29, said that at one point during a four-hour ordeal in which he was forced to drive the suspects around in his car at gunpoint while handcuffed to the car and repeatedly shocked with a stun gun and beaten, he recognized Fitzgerald’s voice.
Middleton said he has known the defendant since childhood and that they were related by marriage. He said they even lived together at one point in their lives.
Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Michelle Kelley, Middleton said it started just after he closed his business, 310 Laundry Mat on Connellsville Street, and was getting a scraper from his trunk to clear snow from his car, which was parked on North Gordon Street.
He said five armed and masked black men ran toward him from a car parked across the street. One of them tackled him to the ground and others began kicking and punching him. He said they demanded the key to the side door and said that they wanted money from the business.
When he said he didn’t have the key to that door, which was out of the view of a security camera, one of the suspects punched him in the face, handcuffed one of his hands and forced him into the back seat of his car.
Middleton said one suspect attempted to start driving, but said he did not know how to drive with a manual transmission.
He said they forced him to drive and cuffed his right hand to the steering wheel. Three of the suspects were in his car, while the other two followed in the car they arrived in. They stayed in contact using cell phones, he said.
They drove to the corner of East Main Street and Cleveland Avenue, where the suspects shocked him with a stun gun and hit him while demanding keys to business, he said.
They then ordered him to drive to a secluded area around Fairchance where they threatened to kill him and his family if he did not surrender the keys.
Next, they ordered him to drive to Feather Avenue and to park behind a garage, where one of the masked men said he was not going to hurt him.
Middleton said he recognized the voice as that of Fitzgerald.
Realizing he was having difficulty driving, the suspects, who didn’t have a key to open the handcuffs, unlocked the one from the victim’s hand by using the screwdriver for his eyeglasses.
They then handcuffed his left hand to the car door and ordered him to drive back to the business following the other car.
He was allowed to leave around 4:30 a.m. after they took $6 from his wallet and removed the battery from his cell phone.
He said he was shocked at least 20 times and the stun gun left burn marks on his head and upper body. He said he also had chipped teeth and a broken nose. He produced documents from hospitals where he received treatment for the injuries.
Middleton reported the incident to police on Jan. 28.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Nick Timperio, Middleton said he didn’t know if Fitzgerald punched or kicked him because all five suspects were masked.
He also said he spoke with Fitzgerald briefly in a West Virginia bar within a year prior to the incident.
Det. Phillip W. Jones said the suspects were also wearing gloves, which prevented police from obtaining any physical evidence.
He said the four accomplices are the subjects of an ongoing investigation.
In his closing argument, Timperio said Middleton hadn’t talked with Fitzgerald recently before the incident and could not have recognized Fitzgerald’s voice after being beaten and shocked numerous with stun gun.
He said there is no other evidence against Fitzgerald and stressed the fact they Middleton waited eight days before going to police.
Kelly argued that the two men have known each other all their lives and Middleton delayed reporting the incident to police because of the threats the suspects made toward him and his family.