Cops: Man Beat Neighbor with Flashlight

A man allegedly walked into an apartment and began beating another man with a flashlight over the weekend in a Bridge Street apartment.

Joshua Laholt, 35, of Phoenixville, remains in Chester County Prison on $20,000 bail after police charged him with two felony counts of aggravated assault along with misdemeanor counts of simple assault, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and possessing an instrument of crime. The alleged assault sent the victim to Phoenixville Hospital for treatment.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Phoenixville Police Officer Frank Bryan, police responded to an apartment in the 100 block of Bridge Street on Sunday, Jan. 15 shortly before 2 p.m. for a report of an assault. Once on scene, Bryan wrote that he made contact with the 25-year-old victim.

“[The victim] stated that a subject named Josh came into his apartment and started punching him in the face and hitting him about the head with a flashlight,” the affidavit states. “Josh also threatened to kill him.”

Police couldn’t locate a suspect right away and the victim was taken to Phoenixville Hospital. According to police, he had large welts on his head along with facial injuries that caused his right eye to swell shut from severe bruising. The victim’s nose was also bleeding, according to police.

The victim told police that the man responsible for the alleged assault lived in the building next door. Police knocked on the door but no one answered.

“A short time later, [the victim] called 911 and reported that the subject named Josh [who] assaulted him was standing in front of his building,” the court papers state.

Officers arrived and the victim allegedly pointed out Laholt, who came with police without incident, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Laholt was unable to post 10 percent of $20,000 bail set by District Judge Grover E. Koon. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 19 in district court before District Judge Theodore Michaels.