Pavlik indicted in Canfield pellet-gun incident
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
Former boxing champion Kelly Pavlik was indicted Thursday by a Mahoning County grand jury on two counts of felonious assault.
Pavlik, 33, of Sugarbush Drive in Canfield, is accused of wounding a man last Aug. 9 with a pellet gun while the man was digging a lake at Pavlik’s home.
Although the incident happened in August, the man did not file a complaint until October.
Pavlik was charged with misdemeanor assault Jan. 26 after an investigation by detectives with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office. The case was upgraded to felonious assault after it was presented to a grand jury.
The man told investigators four other people were present the day he was working at Pavlik’s home. The victim said he went into the lake to test the depth and realized a gun was being fired at him.
Reports say the man turned and saw Pavlik holding a .22-caliber pellet gun. The man screamed, “That was my head,” then Pavlik raised the gun again and fired, hitting the man in the arm.
The incident was filmed on a cellphone and was sent to the victim through a text message. The others who were there were laughing, and everyone there was drinking, reports said. Reports said the victim had turned his phone over to investigators.
The man received treatment on his arm the next day.
Court records show Pavlik has had three preliminary hearings in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield in the case, but all three were continued, the latest on Tuesday.
Pavlik retired from boxing in January 2013. In 2007, he was the world middleweight champion.
His attorney, Damian Billak, said he was aware an indictment was forthcoming, and he and his client look forward to defending themselves in court.
The former champ has had several run-ins with the law the past couple of years. In August 2014, Pavlik pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and in February 2014, he pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct for not paying for a cab ride.
On Nov. 30, 2015, he pleaded no contest and was found guilty of a charge of disorderly conduct and had a charge of assault dismissed in Niles Municipal Court. Those charges stemmed from an accusation by a friend that Pavlik attacked him April 18 during a Foo Fighters concert at a record store in Weathersfield Township.