One of the victims said he was downstairs in the residence when the men entered and began attacking him. He said they started walking him backwards until he was cornered and they began hitting him in the face repeatedly and kneeing him in the body while he was being held back.
The second victim was upstairs playing video games when he heard the commotion and went downstairs to investigate. He said he attempted to defend his roommate but one or two of the intruders began punching him repeatedly in the head. They eventually left.
The responding officer confirmed the details of the incident and asked for descriptions of the suspects. One of them was described as wearing a green tie-dye Grateful Dead t-shirt. Another was described as wearing a gray sweatshirt and had a cut above his eye. Another was described as not wearing a shirt at all. The victims said the men left heading north toward Church Street, which was relayed to other officers in the area to watch for them.
An EMS unit was called to evaluate the victims and one complained of his jaw not closing correctly and had a laceration on his face. The other was found to have bruising, redness, swelling and bleeding on his forehead and nose. Both refused transport to the hospital but went there later on the their own.
Officers checking the area found a male wearing a green tie-dye shirt in front of the Sig Epsilon house on Church Street. The male was detained for identification and was later identified a 19-year-old Miami student. The two victims were driven to that location to see if they could identify the suspect as one of the attackers. They did so and were taken back to their residence and were asked what specifically they saw him do and one responded he had been the one who had been repeatedly striking his roommate in the face.
The suspect was arrested and taken to the police department to be processed. He was read his rights and agreed to speak to officers but refused to give the names of others who could corroborate his story because he did not want to get them involved.
According to the report, he mentioned his girlfriend texting him at 2 a.m. but refused to give his phone to the officer who was attempting to establish a timeline of events.
The officer detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and asked how much he had to drink that night. He said he had one beer at 8 p.m. The officer asked how he could still smell it on his breath all those hours later and the suspect said he wanted an attorney. Questioning was ended.
During the booking process, the suspect was found to be in possession of a fake Indiana driver’s license.
He was charged with aggravated burglary, offenses involving underage persons and prohibitions and taken to the Butler County Jail.
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