CHICORA — A Butler man who is accused of hitting a security guard with his Jeep Grand Cherokee will face a felony charge in county court.

District Judge Lewis Stoughton on Tuesday ordered Peter D. Gall held for court on felony aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and harassment charges.

Gall, 30, was charged following an incident on June 20 in the parking lot of Clearview Mall in Center Township.

State police accused Gall of refusing to leave the mall's parking lot and driving in circles so that security guard Michael Choate-Speckert could not read his license plate, according to the criminal complaint. He then allegedly intentionally struck Choate-Speckert with his car, police said.

The prosecution Tuesday called upon the victim, Choate-Speckert, to testify about the events of that night.

Choate-Speckert said his supervisor instructed him around midnight to ask several vehicles that had been loitering to leave the property. At the time, he was an employee of Allied Universal, a security service company. The mall closes at 9 p.m.

He said that he approached Gall's vehicle and asked him to leave. His vehicle was labeled “Mall Security” and had a light bar on top.

“He responded aggressively with cursing and he did not want to leave,” he said.

Remaining in his vehicle, he said that he tried to circle around to see Gall's license plate, though Gall started driving in circles to avoid him.

Choate-Speckert said that he stepped out of his vehicle and stood about 10 feet in front of Gall's Jeep. Gall then drove at him going an estimated 5 to 10 mph and struck him in the knees, he said. He was not seriously hurt, but did suffer a sprained ankle.

The altercation ended when he drew his handgun, he said.

“I pulled my concealed carry and presented it to him and asked him to exit his vehicle. He then fled the scene,” he said.

No other witnesses were called to the stand.

Al Lindsay, Gall's attorney, disputed whether the assault, which did not cause serious injuries, was serious enough for a felony charge.

“It seemed to me that he was injured when he jumped in front of a moving vehicle,” Lindsay said.

Assistant District Attorney Russ Karl responded that even an attempted assault with a vehicle is a serious crime.

“Anytime you use a vehicle to strike a human being, that's as serious as it comes. You could kill someone,” he said.

Gall is free on a $15,000 bond and will be arraigned in county court Nov. 14.