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Couple face trial for allegedly forcing two boys to smoke marijuana

By Miles Layton jmlayton@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

CONNELLSVILLE — A man and woman accused of forcing two minors to smoke marijuana in South Connellsville had all charges held for Fayette County Court on Thursday.

According to the criminal complaint, Kaylee Lashae Brinker, 28, of Connellsville and Kenneth C. Zyskowski, 43, of Greensburg allegedly restrained two male minors, who they did not permit to leave the basement of a home at 136 W. Painter St. on April 11.

The boys allege that Brinker and Zyskowski forced them to smoke marijuana to the degree that one boy passed out and the other started vomiting and became violently ill.

The ages of the minors were not revealed in the criminal complaint.

During a preliminary hearing Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr., their ages were revealed to be 11 and 13 years old.

Police charged Brinker and Zyskowski in June each with two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children, two felony counts of unlawful restraint of a minor and two misdemeanor counts corruption of a minor.

During their preliminary hearing, one of the boys testified that he and the other boy went into the basement to play video games with Brinker. While they were there, the boy said, Zyskowski came into the basement and asked the boys if they “wanted to hit a bowl” — smoke marijuana from a pipe.

The boy testified that they said “no” to the offer of marijuana. The boy said Zyskowski then put a chair in front of the basement door so that they couldn’t leave before he said to them, “you have to hit this bowl.”

The boy testified that he tried to call a family member for help, but that person was sleeping.

The boy testified that Zyskowski put the marijuana pipe to the boy’s mouth and told him to smoke it. The boy described the pipe as made of aluminum foil with holes at both ends. The boy said he learned the terminology of smoking a “bowl” from school.

The boy testified that he tried to hold his breath as Zyskowski held the pipe to his mouth, but ended up taking a drag of marijuana. The boy said afterward he felt dizzy and passed out. When the boy woke up, he testified, he saw the other boy vomiting because of his experience smoking marijuana.

The boy testified that after their experiences, the other boy moved the chair that had been blocking the basement door. The boy said when he and the other boy told a family member what happened, that person cried.

The boy testified that the family member took him and the other boy to Highlands Hospital in Connellsville. A week later, the boys went for a second visit to the hospital, the boy testified.

Brinker and Zyskowski were arraigned June 23 by Magisterial District Court Senior Judge Brenda Cavalcante, who set each of their bonds at $15,000 — 10 percent. They remain in Fayette County Prison.

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