Injured Man, Fight, Warrant Out

As the annual Caste Village fireworks show was wrapping up in Whitehall Borough at around 10 p.m. on Friday, a collection of Whitehall police officers received a report of an injured male lying on the ground in the main Caste parking lot.

Officers found the male, who had recently received a blow to his mouth area, Whitehall police Chief Donald R. Dolfi said. Police called medics to the scene and cleared the area to treat the victim.

The officers interviewed witnesses and were pointed to the direction that the attacker fled after allegedly striking the victim from his rear, blind side. Witnesses knew the attacker by name.

As officers began to head in that direction, another male arrived at the scene and tackled one of the witnesses who was showing police the way, Chief Dolfi said. The tackler then attempted to throw some punches, but the officers broke up that fight.

The tackler, Michael Fazio, 22, of 1838 Parkline Dr., Apt. 13, in Whitehall's Wallace (Prospect) Park area, was taken into custody, processed and released. Police are charging Fazio with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.

Also, a warrant has been issued for Daniel Laplace Jr., 23, of 649 Glowood Dr. in Whitehall, on charges of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, simple assault and harassment. Police believe that Laplace is the attacker who ran from the scene.

Also charged in connection with the incident are Raymond Fleisner, 21, of 1556 Barnes Ave. in South Park Township, and Nathan Reed, 18, of 352 Benson Cir. in Whitehall. Fleisner and Reed are being charged with disorderly conduct.

(UPDATE: On Aug. 21, Fazio's assault charge was withdrawn, as was Laplace's aggravated assault charge on Aug. 28.)

(UPDATE: LaPlace's simple assault charge was withdrawn on Jan. 23.)

It Pays to Be Honest

At around 9 p.m. on Friday, a Whitehall police officer came upon three teenage girls at Caste Village in possession of alcohol, Dolfi said.

The officer took the girls—two 16 year olds and one 17 year old—to a police command post and waited for their parents to come get them.

Parents did arrive to get the girls, but the officer realized that two of the teens—the oldest one and one of the 16 year olds—had given false names.

The next day, the officer visited those girls' parents after discovering their true identities. The girls who gave false names are being charged with violating liquor laws, while the girl who was honest is not being charged.

Except for One

At around 8:57 p.m. on Friday, Whitehall police officers came upon approximately 25 young adults being loud and crowding traffic ways at the Caste Village parking lot.

The officers requested that the adults stay away from the traffic, and most of them complied, Dolfi said, except for one—Bradley Everett Haas Jr., 24, of 812 Rolling Rock Rd. in Baldwin Township—who continued to display "disorderly and hazardous actions."

The officers believed that Haas was extremely intoxicated, Dolfi said. He was led away from the scene and eventually taken home by a friend. Haas is being charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct. (UPDATE: Those charges were dismissed on Jan. 16.)

Slashed Tires

A resident of the 1100 block of Prospect Road contacted Whitehall police at around 1:54 p.m. on Friday to report that the two front tires on his 2002 black Cadillac Escalade had been slashed while it was parked in his driveway.

The resident had been advertising the vehicle as for sale. He has not been able to provide a monetary value for the tires' damage.

Police have canvassed the area and spoken to nearby residents but have not turned up any leads.

The investigation is open.

Broken Glass on Bevan Road

Whitehall police received a report at around 12:39 p.m. on Friday that someone had broken the glass on the front door of an apartment building at 1575 Bevan Rd.

A maintenance worker there said that the glass had been broken since June 22.

Police, who are investigating the incident, believe that the glass had been kicked in, Dolfi said.

Stolen(?) Money

A resident of 1745 Skyline Dr. in the Prospect Park area contacted Whitehall police at around 3:52 p.m. on Wednesday to report that the money order that she was using to pay rent to Whitehall Place Apartments management was stolen.

The woman said that she placed her rent in its assigned mail drop slot but was surprised to learn that Whitehall Place management never received it. She eventually discovered that the money order was cashed but not by her landlords.

Whitehall police have been investigating the incident and have discovered a person of interest who also lives at Whitehall Place, Dolfi said. The person of interest is denying any wrongdoing but has nonetheless given the would-be victim her money back.

Dolfi said that his department is weighing its options when it comes to potentially charging the person of interest.

"No victim, no crime," Dolfi said. "The police department can't be a victim."

Read through other Whitehall police items here.

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