Norristown man bound over on assault charges

A Norristown man was bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing on charges related to an alleged April assault.

According to the criminal complaint filed by State College police, officers were on routine patrol through the borough at about 1:40 a.m. April 17 when a man was observed lying in a yard along East Prospect Avenue. The man was bleeding from the head and mouth, was unconscious and appeared to have been assaulted.

Witnesses in the area described seeing the man trying to break up an argument, police said, before allegedly being chased across the street by three individuals. The group allegedly knocked the man to the ground and began to punch, kick and stomp on his head.

Witnesses described one of the defendants, police said, and officers soon picked up Marcus Ford, 20, based on the description. Witnesses positively identified Ford at the scene.

In a preliminary hearing Wednesday, the man who had allegedly been attacked testified that he had been out with a group of friends when one of them had been attacked. He attempted to intervene, but was chased and hit in the back of the head, after which, he testified, he was stomped on until he lost consciousness.

The man was unable to identify Ford as the alleged attacker in court, saying there were multiple attackers.

One of the witnesses at the scene was called to testify as well, saying she saw the alleged scene unfold — the attempted intervention, the chasing and the attack. She further testified that she provided aid to the man, cradling his head until EMS arrived.

The witness said she was able to identify Ford at the scene in part by the shirt he was wearing at the time, which was described as black with an orange floral pattern on it. She also positively identified Ford in the courtroom.

District Judge Allen Sinclair bound Ford over on a misdemeanor charge of simple assault and summary offenses of disorderly conduct and harassment. The case now moves toward trial.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Norristown man bound over on assault charges."