Butler man in jail on charge of assault with a baseball bat
A Butler man is accused of attacking another man with a baseball bat in the city this week.
Stephen M. Netz, 31, of Butler remains in the Butler County Prison on $25,000 bond. He is charged with felony assault.
The alleged attack Sunday night left the victim, a 21-year-old Massachusetts man, in need of hospital treatment for a bloody head wound and an injured knee, Butler police said.
Officers were called around 9 p.m. to investigate the suspected assault. They said they found the victim on West North Street, bleeding from the head and with a bruise on his right kneecap.
He told officers that Netz struck him in the head and knee with a baseball bat during an argument, police said. The victim allegedly recounted that the incident occurred at the defendant's apartment on the 400 block of West New Castle Street, where he had been staying.
The victim was taken by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital. His condition was not known Thursday.
Netz was arraigned Monday on a charge of aggravated assault. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 25. It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.
He is already awaiting trial stemming from an unrelated arrest for fleeing police and drunken driving in Butler earlier this year.
City police said the defendant in that case was intoxicated around 2 a.m. July 14 when he passed an officer while traveling about twice the 25 mph posted speed limit on West Cunningham Street.
The officer activated his emergency lights and siren after the car turned onto West Wayne Street, but Netz did not pull over, according to charging documents. He continued onto Virginia Avenue before finally stopping at the intersection of Beckert Avenue.
He told the officer that he didn't immediately pull over, documents said, because he was “tired of the police messing with him.”
He allegedly admitted he had five or six drinks before driving. Police said a breath test later showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.150 percent. A level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated under state law.
Police also allegedly found two marijuana pipes and a marijuana grinder in his car.
Netz in that case is charged with a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude police and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia.
