Police: Man pistol-whipped by victim he tried to mug
A man was taken to the hospital and then locked up after he was injured by a man he tried to rob on Bowlby Street in Waynesburg just after midnight Thursday, police said.
Larry Steven Hagyari Jr., 28, of Jefferson Township, Greene County, drove two friends to Waynesburg, saying he wanted to buy more beer, then left with a pellet gun, court documents said.
Police were called when a witness spotted three suspicious-looking men near Eva K. Bowlby Library. The witness told police one of the men had a gun and walked up and down Bowlby Street “like he was casing the place,” court documents said.
Police located the two other men first, identified as Patrick Maurice and Cornell Hamilton. Officers were questioning them about a gun when they heard shouting and tires squealing, then found Hagyari running from behind the library bleeding. He was not found with a gun and claimed he was “just walking” and “got jumped,” court documents said.
Officers then found John Shriver “visibly shaken” with blood on his face. He told police he was walking on Bowlby Street when a man jumped out from behind the fence, pointed a gun at him and demanded money. Shriver punched the man, threw him to the ground, hit him with the gun and threw it over the fence, he told police. The gun was found in pieces.
Maurice and Hamilton told police they were drinking in Clarksville and came to Waynesburg for more beer. They said Hagyari parked the vehicle and said he would be back.
Maurice was jailed on a warrant, court documents said.
An ambulance took Hagyari to Washington Health System in Greene for treatment.
He is charged with robbery, criminal attempt to commit aggravated assault, terroristic threats and possession of a weapon. Hagyari was arraigned at 9 a.m. Thursday by Magisterial District Judge D. Glenn Bates, who set bail at $20,000.
He remains in the Greene County lockup in lieu of bond. He faces a preliminary hearing 3 p.m. Sept. 21.