Man arrested in assault outside bar in Girard
By jeanne starmack
girard
Police have made an arrest in the case of a man who was seriously injured outside a bar in the city.
Amos J. Gramelt, 29, of Beechwood Drive in Girard was assaulted Sept. 17. The assault took place as the Wonder Bar on West Liberty Street was closing and people were leaving, police Chief Jeff Palmer said Tuesday.
Robert Prodnick, 29, of 102 W. Liberty St. in Girard is charged with felonious assault because of the magnitude of Gramelt’s injuries, said Palmer. Gramelt was in intensive care at St. Elizabeth Health Center after the assault.
Prodnick was arraigned in Girard Municipal Court and released Monday on a $2,500 bond, or 10 percent of $25,000. He also is under house arrest and was expected to appear again in court at 1 p.m. today.
Gramelt’s parents filed a complaint with Girard Police last Wednesday that said they found out their son was “cleaned up by employees of the bar and put back in the car to drive home.”
Paul Barnes, owner of the bar, said that version does not paint a true picture of what happened.
“There’s no way we wrapped a gauze bandage around him and sent him on his way,” Barnes said.
He said he was not at the bar at the time. One person was working — the bartender, he said. The bartender told him Gramelt was up and alert after the assault, and he did not want help to be called.
Gramelt did not remember how he got home that night, the report said.
Palmer said Tuesday a police investigation showed Prodnick was arguing with a woman before the assault. Gramelt intervened on her behalf, he said. The woman drove Gramelt home after the assault, the investigation showed.
Palmer said Gramelt was offered police and medical assistance, but he declined it.
Gramelt’s parents found him in his bed at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 17, his father, John Gramelt, said last week. They took him to Northside Hospital, which sent him to St. Elizabeth’s.
Palmer said Gramelt was punched once in the face. The impact knocked his head into a brick wall. Unconscious, he fell forward on his face into the concrete, Palmer said.
He had a fractured skull, bleeding in his brain and facial fractures, the police report said.
John Gramelt did not want to comment Tuesday on his son’s condition.