Brownsville man charged in assault
A Brownsville man faces charges after being accused of fracturing a man’s leg during a dispute in April.
According to the criminal complaint, Joseph Stokes, 59, accosted James Wellington as he was walking through a parking lot on Hopewell Road in Luzerne Township on the night of April 23.
Wellington told a Pennsylvania State Police trooper Stokes accused him of making a rude gesture to Stokes’ wife before punching him multiple times in the face and chest.
Stokes also threw Wellington’s walking stick over a hill into the bushes, the complaint said.
Medical records provided to police by Wellington’s family said he sustained a left medial tibial fracture in the assault, and required surgery and orthopedic implants afterward.
Stokes is charged with aggravated assault and simple assault.
He had yet to be arraigned Monday morning.