Crime & Safety

Preliminary Hearing Waived in Alleged Golf Club Incident

A formal arraignment date is set for Aug. 25.

A Schuylkill Township juvenile charged as an adult in an alleged assault in Kimberton Community Park on July 4 waived his preliminary hearing on Thursday in district court.

Christopher Schellberg, 16, faces a host of charges. According to police, Schellberg was with friends in Kimberton Community Park on July 4 at approximately 1:45 a.m.

The 31-year-old male victim, who was riding a golf cart through the park with friends at the time, saw the kids and noted that a case of beer was dropped, according to the criminal complaint.

Find out what's happening in Phoenixvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“[The victim] and his friends picked up the beer and told the kids to get out of here,” according to the affidavit of probable cause. “The kids tried to retrieve the beer; however, the beer fell to the ground and the group of kids ran away.”

Police allege that approximately 10 minutes later, a group of males “armed with golf clubs” ran toward the victim and his friends.

Find out what's happening in Phoenixvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The victim told police he tried to calm the group down to protect his wife.

“[The victim] attempted to reach for one of the clubs and take it away from one of the males and at this time [the victim] was forcefully hit with a golf club on the left side of his head,” the criminal complaint states.

Due to the extent of his injuries, the victim was taken to Phoenixville Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to The Hospital of the University of Pennsyvlania. The victim suffered a fractured skull, brain hemorrhaging, inner ear damage and related trauma, according to court documents.

In court Thursday, the victim was present, and Schellberg appeared briefly before District Judge Theodore Michaels as the charges were waived to county court.

According the criminal complaint, Schellberg confessed to hitting the victim.

“Schellberg admitted that he and his friends were in the park at the itme of this incident and he and his friends had a confrontation with the victim and his friends,” the complaint states. “Christopher Schellberg explained in detail that he was the person that hit the victim in the head with a golf club.”

Michaels placed a number of conditions on Schellberg’s $1 million unsecured bail, including anger management, drug and alcohol counseling and orders to have no contact with the victim. In court Thursday, the judge was informed that Schellberg was complying with all those conditions, which Michaels referred to as “strict."

Schellberg is charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, including one count of assault with a deadly weapon, in addition to charges of possessing an instrument of crime, three counts of simple assault, reckless endangerment, two counts of disorderly conduct, two counts of harassment and one count of defiant trespass.

By waiving the preliminary hearing, all charges now move to county court. Schellberg’s formal arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 25. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.