A thumb drive was enough, despite technical difficulties, to move a witnessless assault case forward to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

Danielle Cornel Frazier, 39, of Butler, appeared for a preliminary hearing Monday with his attorney, Kenneth Harris.District Judge William Fullerton presided.Frazier was arraigned May 5 on charges of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor reckless endangerment after he allegedly slashed another man with a box cutter on April 28 in the city. He had been released on a nonmonetary bond.Butler Patrolman Nathan Shulik testified Monday as the prosecution's witness.No other witnesses attended Monday's hearing; however, Assistant District Attorney Robert Zanella submitted two pieces of evidence to the court.The first was a page of photographs showing the various injuries of the man who Frazier is accused of slashing. The man was treated at Butler Memorial Hospital for his wounds, which included multiple cuts to his forearm and face.The second piece of evidence was a USB drive, allegedly containing video of the attack.During his testimony, Shulik said the video shows the attack and those involved.“It's pretty clear,” said Shulik of the video quality.Shulik said Frazier and the other man entered the view of the camera, and Frazier can be seen charging the other man from a starting point of about 50 yards away.“(First), he does swing the blade at (the man) and hits him in the arm,” Shulik said.He said Frazier then began attacking the man's face with the blade.During cross-examination, Harris asked to see the video evidence.Fullerton tried to pull up the video on his computer, but said security in place on the county's network would not allow him to download the software needed to play the video. Fullerton also tried to use a tablet, typically used for livestreaming inmates, that also was unable to play the video.“We made multiple attempts to view the video,” Fullerton said.Harris later used the inability to view the video and lack of other witnesses as reasoning to dismiss the case against his client. He said the case at that point was based solely on hearsay.“We don't have a witness other than a video we can't play,” he said.Fullerton said the officer's witnessing of the injuries suffered as well as the presence of the USB drive was enough evidence to move the case forward.“At this point, I'll take it (the USB) does show what it's meant to show,” he said.Frazier is scheduled to appear next for a formal arraignment Aug. 24 at the county courthouse.

Danielle Frazier