Drug deal clash ends in stabbing
MERCER TWP — An apparent drug deal in northern Butler County went south, so to speak, for one man who needed hospital treatment for a stab wound in the buttocks.
The alleged knife-wielder, Joshua T. Bennett, 26, of Mercer Township, ended up in the Butler County Prison on felony and misdemeanor assault charges following last week's stabbing.
State police said they were called Thursday to an apartment in the 600 block of Grove City Road in Mercer Township for a disturbance.
When troopers got there, according to court documents, they learned that “an altercation took place over a drug exchange.”
Authorities said they later found the 19-year-old victim at a home on East Main Street Extension in Pine Township, Mercer County. The Grove City teenager told police that Bennett had stabbed him in the backside.
Investigators suspect a kitchen knife was used in the assault, documents said.
A Superior Ambulance crew was called and tended to the victim, who appeared to have a 2-inch cut. Paramedics described the injury as “minor.”
The teen was taken to Grove City Medical Center for treatment of unspecified injuries. His condition Monday was not available.
District Judge Bill O'Donnell on Thursday arraigned Bennett on charges of aggravated assault and simple assault. He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $25,000 bail following arraignment.
A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 1 at O'Donnell's office in Slippery Rock.
