Police charge three in West Brownsville assault
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Three people were charged by West Brownsville police in connection with an April 3 domestic dispute at Main Street home.
Shirley I. Rankin, 49, and Joseph Henry Rankin, 51, both of 501 Main St., West Brownsville, were arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Joshua Kanalis on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and disorderly conduct. They were released on $25,000 unsecured bond.
A warrant was issued by Kanalis for Jason M. Earnest, 29, of Uniontown, who faces the same charges.
Police were called for a dispute at 501 Main. When police arrived, the officer saw about a half-dozen people on the porch of the duplex yelling at each other. Two men were covered in blood and had head injuries. Shirley Rankin told police that her husband, Joseph Rankin, was standing in the doorway of their home when Earnest reportedly walked to the middle of the porch and started yelling at him. Earnest reportedly told Rankin to stay out of his business and stop listening to his conversations.
Joseph Rankin reportedly walked onto the porch to confront Earnest, who allegedly grabbed Rankin’s cane and started hitting him over the head with it. Shirley Rankin told police that Earnest then grabbed a baseball bat from their porch and started hitting her husband in the head.
Terry Miller, who lives at 503 Main, told police that Joseph Rankin walked onto the porch and yelled “Who wants some of this?” as he waved his cane. She said he then hit Earnest in the head several times with the cane. Miller said Shirley Rankin ran out onto the porch with a baseball bat. She started swinging it, hitting both Earnest and her husband. She then ran back into her home and put away the bat.
A second witness, Tara Ames, told police she heard a commotion. She saw Joseph Rankin and another man fighting on the porch. Ames then saw Shirley Rankin run out of her house with the bat. Ames said Rankin was swinging the bat wildly, hitting both her husband and Earnest in the head.
Earnest was taken to Monongahela Valley Hospital. Joseph Rankin was flown to UPMC, Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh.
A preliminary hearing is set for Friday before Kanalis.