Knox man charged in incident that led to various road closures

State police in Clarion filed charges against Knox resident Levi Michael Barrett, 28, in relation to an early morning incident on Aug. 8 in Beaver Township, which forced the closure of Route 338 and various side roads while police searched for the male victim in the case.

According to police and court records, the incident involved gunfire, but court documents and court records do not indicate the victim suffered gunshot wounds.

According to records, two people notified police about two men outside a Little Germany Road residence. The people told police they heard knocking on their doors and gunshots.

According to the records, the people later told police they observed the two men walk away toward Little Germany Road. The complainants told police they reported the incident after hearing gunshots coming from the direction the two men had gone.

According to the records, police canvassed the area and encountered Barrett near the intersection of Route 338 and Little Germany Road.

Barrett, according to the records, told police he was with the victim earlier, but he did not know where the victim went. Troopers found a 9mm handgun and signs of a physical altercation at the intersection.

Barrett, the records show, told police that “no one was hit” and Barrett was then transported to Clarion Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

A search was conducted with the assistance of the state police aviation unit and the victim was located in a nearby wooded area to the southwest of the intersection, according to the records.

The victim, the records show, told police that Barrett was trying to kill him and had fired shots at him.

According to the records, police observed injuries to the victim’s left ear, mouth and right thumb, and he was transported to Clarion Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Interviewed at Clarion Hospital, the records show, the victim told police he had been at Barrett’s residence earlier in the evening and early morning when an argument occurred between the two men. The victim said Barrett attacked him and a fight ensued.

The victim told police that Barrett retrieved a handgun from inside his residence before threatening the victim and fired the handgun in the victim’s direction, according to the records.

The victim said he went to a nearby residence to seek help before Barrett followed him down Little Germany Road and fired additional shots toward him, according to the records.

The victim, the records show, suffered lacerations to his forehead, tissue damage to his left ear, missing teeth and partial amputation of his right thumb. The victim was transferred to a Pittsburgh-area hospital for additional treatment.

Barrett is charged with aggravated assault, a first-degree felony; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony; one count each of making terroristic threats and possession of an instrument of crime, both first-degree misdemeanors; and three counts of simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor.

Barrett was charged with those crimes on Tuesday at district court in Knox. He is awaiting a preliminary arraignment.

Later Tuesday, Barrett was charged with the manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance; criminal use of a communication facility; and possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia stemming from a May 28, 2020, incident, in Knox during which he allegedly sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant.

Barrett also is awaiting preliminary arraignment in that case.

 

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