The case of a 19-year-old Butler man accused of violent assault with a gun was carried over to the Court of Common Pleas following a preliminary hearing Monday afternoon.

Damian J. Blystone, who was charged in a Jan. 18 shooting at the Clearview Mall, appeared in court before District Judge William Fullerton in regard to unrelated charges filed Oct. 25.

Butler City police charged Blystone with two counts of felony aggravated assault, felonies for possessing firearms and drug sales and misdemeanors for unlawful restraint, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and simple assault.

Robert M. Zanella Jr., assistant district attorney, asked Nicole Kearns, whom police allege was a victim, to testify to the reported violent situation involving Blystone.

Kearns said she and Blystone were having an argument around 11 a.m. Oct. 25, and it escalated until 2:30 p.m. She added that the events were witnessed by a 14-year-old boy.

“We were both fighting each other, I guess,” she said. “I mean, he hit me. That’s really about it.”

Kearns added that Blystone threatened to kill her a few times during the altercation.

Zanella asked Kearns if Blystone brandished a weapon during the incident. Kearns confirmed Blystone used a semi-automatic gun, shooting it near her face.

“He let a shot off, in the house. He was pretty close to me,” she said. “It was across from me, like, diagonally.”

Kearns said Blystone hit her with the pistol, then went upstairs. She went to a neighbor’s home to call police.

“I hurried up and ran out the door, tried to find someone. Had no shoes, no nothing,” she said.

During cross-examination by Jacob Wyland, Blystone’s attorney, Kearns said she suffered a head injury and was supposed to have her chest X-rayed, but she never did.

Chad Rensel, a lieutenant with the city police, was the second witness called to the stand. He said he and other officers executed a search warrant at the scene, where a fresh bullet hole was found in the bedroom wall later that day.

In addition, Rensel said two gallon Ziploc bags of marijuana and marijuana THC cartridges were found.

“It’s a large amount of marijuana for personal use,” he said.

Rensel said two guns also were discovered under the floorboards of an upstairs bathroom, one of which Kearns had described to the officers in the initial report. He added that one firearm had an altered serial number.

Wyland asked Rensel if he knew Blystone possessed a medical marijuana card, to which Rensel replied he did not know.

Wyland said he didn’t believe the commonwealth had met its burden with regard to Blystone’s charges in his closing argument.

“(Kearns) testified to a fight they both were involved in. She was pretty vague about the extent to which he assaulted her,” he said. “In relation to the unlawful restraint charge, she didn’t testify about not being permitted to leave the residence.”

Fullerton dismissed the reckless endangerment charge, but held the other eight charges over to the Court of Common Pleas.

Blystone remains in jail in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

According to charging documents, Blystone was previously charged in relation to a shooting Jan. 18 at the Clearview Mall parking lot. Police said Blystone was charged after officers uncovered evidence he threatened the shooter, Carlos Gonzalez Carill, shortly before the shooting.

Blystone and his two friends were shot as a result of the incident and suffered minor injuries.

While out on bail, Blystone was found to have two stolen guns in his vehicle during a Jan. 26 traffic stop in Middlesex Township.

Those guns had been reported stolen, along with two others by Penn Township Police, who also filed their own charges following his arrest. Middlesex Township Police charged Blystone with felony stolen property possession as well as a traffic citation for driving without insurance.

According to charging documents, Blystone was released Sept. 1 from Butler County Prison.