Man arrested, SRU student injured in off-campus fight
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — A Slippery Rock University student was seriously injured Monday during a fight at an off-campus apartment complex.
State police said 21-year-old Brandon C. Pollice was knocked out and later flown to a Pittsburgh hospital. His condition was not known this morning.
Police arrested Nicholas J. Lucia, 23, of Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, on felony assault and other charges in connection with the altercation at The Heights along Route 173 in Slippery Rock Township.
Lucia is being held in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail.
Troopers said they were called about 12:35 a.m. for a “large fight” at the apartment complex. When they got there they found several people attempting to help Pollice, who was lying unconscious outside an apartment door.
Several witnesses told police that the victim and Lucia had been “rap battling” when the defendant became angry and punched Pollice in the face, court documents said.
Rap battling is a type of rapping that includes boasting and bragging.
The punch knocked Pollice backward, police said, causing his head to hit the ground.
“The defendant jumped on (Pollice) continuing to punch him in the head and face,” according to a police affidavit.
A medical helicopter flew the victim to UPMC Presbyterian hospital.
Police said that after fleeing, Lucia broke a window at an apartment on nearby Stillwater Lane where he got into an argument with 20-year-old Joseph Bojanic.
The defendant is accused of threatening to kill Bojanic, documents said, pulling a gun from a vehicle and waving it in the air.
Lucia's girlfriend, Chloe V. Ketterer, 20, who was there, drove him back to her apartment at University Village in Slippery Rock Township.
Troopers went to Ketterer's apartment but got no answer at her door. After more than 20 minutes, they forced their way in and found both Lucia and Ketterer in the back bedroom.
Police said Ketterer, an SRU student, smelled of alcohol and admitted to drinking.
Following his arrest, documents said, Lucia was placed in the back of a cruiser. But while handcuffed he managed to get his hands from behind his back to the front, and crawl into the front seat.
“He then jumped out of the front passenger seat,” the affidavit said, “in an attempt to escape.”
The getaway failed and Lucia was subsequently arraigned on felony charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats and escape.
Additionally, he was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and a summary charge of harassment.
Ketterer was arraigned on a felony charge of hindering apprehension and a summary charge of underage drinking. She is free on $3,000 bail.
Preliminary hearings for both defendants are set for July 26 at the office of District Judge Bill O'Donnell in Slippery Rock.
