Talk about a dirty fight.
A 38-year-old Philadelphia man is accused of throwing a bag of dog feces at an apartment door before breaking the nose of the tenant’s boyfriend and stealing her cellphone, which captured the assault, police said.
Middletown police responded to the Harpers Crossing apartment complex Saturday night after receiving a report of an assault and robbery in the 100 building.
The woman who lives in the apartment told police she saw a man approach her apartment from the unit above hers and throw a plastic bag at her door before taking off. The bag contained dog feces, according to a probable cause affidavit.
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| Steven Vesotsky |
The woman and her boyfriend went upstairs to confront the man, who lives in Philadelphia but dates a woman in the building, about leaving the bag, police said. When the boyfriend accused Stephen Vesotsky of trying to get his girlfriend evicted for having a new puppy, Vesotsky became irate and suddenly punched the man in the face, according to court documents.
The girlfriend claimed that she captured the assault on her smartphone camera, showed it to Vesotsky, who lunged at her, grabbed the phone and threw it off the second-floor balcony, police said.
Vesotsky then punched the boyfriend in the face a second time, breaking his nose, the affidavit shows.
The officer who responded noted that blood was spattered on the walls, pavement, stairwell and doors outside the apartment. The woman’s boyfriend was heavily bleeding from his face, the affidavit said.
When the boyfriend announced he was leaving to call police, Vesotsky pushed the woman down the stairwell, ran to where her smartphone landed, picked it up and refused to return it, the affidavit said. Police later found the bag of feces in the bushes of another building, but the phone was not found.
The boyfriend was taken to Aria Health Bucks County campus in Falls, where he was treated for the broken nose and received stitches to close facial cuts, police said.
While police were in the emergency room, they learned that Vesotsky was also there seeking treatment for a cut to his hand, authorities said. When a hospital worker asked how the injury happened, Vesotsky allegedly replied that he “punched his neighbor in the face,” according to the affidavit.
Police later spoke with Vesotsky in the ER and said he offered a different version of events. He denied leaving dog feces, assaulting the man or stealing a smartphone.
Vesotsky claimed he was at his girlfriend’s apartment when he heard pounding on the front door. When he answered it, he alleges his neighbor’s boyfriend attacked him, the affidavit said. Vesotsky claimed that he punched the man in self-defense before retreating back into the apartment, police said.
Vesotsky said that he didn’t call police immediately because he wanted to go to the emergency room for his injured hand and, once there, he told staff to call the police, court documents allege.
Vesotsky is charged with felony robbery, as well as other misdemeanor charges including simple assault, reckless endangering and theft. He was arraigned Sunday before District Judge Gary Gambardella and released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
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