Coal Center man ordered to trial in homicide, attempted homicide cases

Prosecutors added a string of new charges Wednesday against a Coal Center man who was charged with trying to kill his pregnant girlfriend Dec. 14 and then stabbing a neighbor to death the following day.
District Judge Joshua Kanalis ordered the suspect, Dylan Justin Lesnik, 28, Wednesday to stand trial in Washington County Court in both cases, said Jason Walsh, first assistant district attorney in Washington County.
Lesnik and his girlfriend, Cassie King, were arguing in their apartment at 135 Spring St. when she threatened to leave him and he allegedly struck her 10 times in her face and side.
At some point during the 3 p.m. fight, Lesnik allegedly grabbed a knife and tried to stab her in the stomach before cutting off part of her ear and slicing a vein in her neck.
King, who was nine weeks pregnant at the time, was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital after Lesnik called 911 and he attempted to dispose of evidence, Walsh said. Her unborn child survived the attack, he said.
Before an ambulance arrived, Lesnik and an alleged co-conspirator, Troy Matthew Chiera, 34, thought King was going to die and tried to created video of her implicating someone else in the stabbing, Walsh said.
Chiera also faces allegations he pretended to be an emergency medical technician to keep King from calling for help and advised Lesnik to get rid of the knife, Walsh said. Chiera’s preliminary hearing was postponed Wednesday.
Walsh said Lesnik, who was wanted on a warrant in King’s assault, returned to his apartment the next day and became upset that it had been searched.
Lesnik went to the apartment of a neighbor, Marshall Y. Craig, and got inside while pretending to have his mail, Walsh claimed. Lesnik allegedly stabbed Craig to death after stealing his banking card, forcing him to reveal its identification number and using it to make $1,600 in withdrawals.
Lesnik allegedly continued to stab the victim in the face and neck after he was dead, Walsh said. State police found him hiding in a pickup truck in Fayette County and Craig’s stolen vehicle was nearby.
Lesnik, who already faced charges of attempted homicide, abuse of a corpse and homicide, received new charges Wednesday of robbery, burglary, theft, access device fraud, intimidation of a witness, conspiracy to commit homicide, tampering with evidence, obstruction and flight to avoid prosecution.
He remained in Washington County jail without bond.