A Center Township man will stand trial on burglary and misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an alleged Butler home invasion that turned deadly.

A district judge, however, dismissed a felony assault charge against 46-year-old Richard A. Paskosky at the defendant's preliminary hearing Monday in Butler.

But despite that one bit of good news for Paskosky his legal troubles may get worse.

Prosecutors said he could still face a homicide charge pending the results of an autopsy on 57-year-old Mark A. Cunning.

For now, he remains in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail.

Butler police on Sept. 16 arrested Paskosky after he allegedly forced his way into a home in the 300 block of East Penn Street and attacked Cunning and Nicholas Donaldson.

Cunning was injured in the melee and died about an hour later at Butler Memorial Hospital.

Donaldson, 29, testified at Monday's hearing before District Judge William Fullerton that he got a threatening call from Paskosky shortly after 9 p.m. Sept. 16.

“He called to tell me he was coming over to fight me or get me out of the house,” Donaldson said.

The clash that night, investigators said, may have been over a woman. Paskosky was dating Donaldson's former girlfriend, Jolene Lipke.

Making that relationship more complicated was that Donaldson was still living in the house that Lipke had rented solely under her name.

Donaldson said Cunning, his friend, also had been living there for several months. But Lipke, now dating the defendant, had recently not been staying at the house much.

About 45 minutes after making his ominous call, Paskosky showed up at the house, Donaldson said.

“He was hitting or kicking the door,” Donaldson said of the defendant. He eventually kicked out a panel in the door, reached inside and unlocked the door.

By then, Donaldson was in the dining room on the telephone with 911, reporting a burglary in progress.

Cunning, who was armed with a homemade club, was in the doorway as Paskosky broke in and crossed the threshold, according to police. The two men tangled.

Donaldson, who also had secured a miniature baseball bat to defend himself, said he moved in to help Cunning, hitting the defendant with the mini bat.

During the altercation, Jeff Cicco, 51, of Butler, who had arrived at the house with Paskosky, entered the home.

Police said they did not charge Cicco in the case because they do not believe he hit anyone that night or aided in the alleged break-in

“(Cicco) took a few steps toward me and told me don't hit him,” Donaldson testified. The two men soon moved into the dining room.

From that vantage point, Donaldson told Paskosky's attorney, public defender Maura Palumbi, he could not see the defendant and Cunning tussling.

Police allege that at some point Paskosky got the better of Cunning, who was struck in the head and knocked to the floor. Investigators said the victim also possibly hit his head in the fall.

But Donaldson acknowledged during questioning by both prosecutor Richard Bosco, a county assistant district attorney, and Palumbi that he never saw how Cunning was struck and knocked down.

He said Paskosky during the altercation confronted him in the dining room.

“He pushed me back and hit me mostly in the top of the head,” Donaldson said of the defendant.

Lipke, 27, who apparently had since arrived at the house, stepped in and separated the two men. Moments later, police arrived.

Donaldson said when he first talked with officers, he saw Cunning standing up and moving around. He also noticed the victim's injuries, which he described as some bleeding facial cuts and a “large bump” on the top left side of the head.

But, he told Bosco, his friend “seemed all right.”

On cross-examination, he said Cunning “was talking and seemed to know who and where he was.”

That, however, would soon change, dramatically. Donaldson said while police were still there he noticed Cunning was seated in the dining room with his head down on a table.

“He was breathing really funny,” Donaldson testified, “it (sounded) almost like bubbles.” He was no longer responsive.

An ambulance crew was called and Cunning was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:37 p.m., police said.

An autopsy was conducted the next day. Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr said a cause of death was not immediately determined.

Bosco said following the hearing that investigators are still awaiting the final autopsy report that will include toxicology and other lab results.

Police initially charged Paskosky with aggravated assault, burglary, simple assault and criminal mischief.

But following testimony at the hearing, Fullerton ruled that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to show Paskosky “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly” caused any serious injuries to Cunning.

Fullerton dismissed that felony assault charge. But he ordered the defendant held for trial on all the other charges.