Dylan J. Hinchberger Submitted Photo

An Ellwood City man accused of assaulting and burglarizing a man outside his Washington Township camper pleaded not guilty during a Tuesday, May 6, hearing where his attorney said he was never seen holding a deadly weapon.

Dylan J. Hinchberger, 31, is charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault, robbery, vehicle robbery, burglary, theft and unlawful carrying of firearms, and one misdemeanor count each of reckless endangerment, simple assault and disorderly conduct following the March 28 incident on Stewart Road.

District Judge Lewis Stoughton held all charges for court.

Assistant district attorney Zoe Kecskemethy called three witnesses: arresting officer Trooper Brock Nardozzi, alleged assault victim Cody Roxberry and mutual acquaintance Ryan Todd.

Roxberry testified everything seemed normal when he was returning home from a friend’s house around 2 a.m. March 28. When unlocking the door of his camper, he said he heard Hinchberger emerge from the woods nearby and run toward him holding a gun while yelling.

Roxberry said he didn’t see Hinchberger’s face in the floodlight outside the camper but recognized his voice from their interaction at a mutual acquaintance’s house earlier that day.

Roxberry said Hinchberger reached him before the camper door was unlocked and hit him over the head with an unidentified object. The two briefly fought before Roxberry could reach his camper door. He opened it to see the place ransacked, he said.

Defense attorney Benjamin Levine argued the aggravated assault count against Hinchberger should be dismissed because the deadly weapon Roxberry was struck with was not identified.

Roxberry testified multiple firearms, night-vision goggles and other items were missing from the camper.

Roxberry said the two fought again after Hinchberger followed him into the camper, and a firearm went off before Hinchberger left the camper and allegedly stole Roxberry’s vehicle. The bullet did not make contact with Roxberry or Hinchberger.

Levine argued there was no testimony to support who was holding the gun or exactly when it was fired. Kecksmethy countered the bullet did not have to make contact with Roxberry to be considered aggravated assault.

Roxberry suffered a broken nose and fractured collarbone among other injuries and required 55 staples in his head. He was treated in the intensive care unit at AHN Grove City Hospital for a hole in his skull that was leaking air, he testified.

Nardozzi said police found blood around the front of the camper and a bullet hole in a window. Roxberry said the two had met each other about three times before the incident through mutual friends, and he could see where his locked camper door was pried open.

Nardozzi testified he was dispatched to the incident and was notified on the way of a hit-and-run crash on Cemetery Road in Venango Township about 5 miles from the assault location.

Troopers responding to the crash report were told a witnesses reported seeing a man running from the vehicle, Nardozzi said. Troopers confirmed the car belonged to Roxberry, and a search warrant for the vehicle executed later uncovered several firearms and other items belonging to Roxberry in and around the vehicle.

Todd, also a mutual acquaintance of Hinchberger, testified he was called to pick up Hinchberger from Cemetery Road. He said he recognized the crashed vehicle as belonging to Roxberry when he arrived, and Hinchberger told Todd he got into a fight with Roxberry.

Todd said he later learned of the incident from Facebook.

Police discovered Hinchberger and Roxberry had been together at a mutual acquaintance’s house the previous night and went to that residence to conduct interviews.

Nardozzi testified he interviewed an alleged ex-girlfriend of Hinchberger who said a group had previously driven Hinchberger to Roxbury’s house, but the court acknowledged the testimony was hearsay.

Troopers later tracked Hinchberger’s phone to a Quality Inn in Springfield Township, Mercer County, where he was with three other people. While the individuals were talking to police, Nardozzi said Hinchberger fled the scene and was soon apprehended in a nearby wooded area.

Hinchberger is being held in Butler County Prison on a $500,000 bond. His formal arraignment is scheduled for 1 p.m. June 24 in Butler County Common Pleas Courtroom 5.