Hanover Township altercation leads to felony charges
A man is facing two felony charges following an altercation in McGonigle. One of the victims he is accused of assaulting also picked up a felony charge for spitting on a deputy.
A Hanover Township man is facing second-degree felony charges for felonious assault following an altercation in McGonigle.
Alex Grafft Massey, 38, is the subject of two criminal complaints following a May 19 altercation. According to the complaints, filed in court by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Massey attacked two victims physically, striking both multiple times in the face.
One victim was knocked unconscious after falling to the ground and striking his head, and he required helicopter transportation for medical care. Witnesses reported seeing Massey “standing on [the victim’s] chest and putting his foot on his throat.”
The second victim sustained a “severe laceration above his left eye” and received stitches after being transported to the hospital.
The first victim, Larry Tye, 44, is facing a fourth-degree felony assault charge himself. According to the complaint against him, the victim “spit his saliva directly into the face, mouth and eyes” of the responding deputy while the deputy was attempting to “render him care after being assaulted.”
According to the Ohio Revised Code, second-degree felonies carry sentences of two to eight years in prison if convicted. Fourth-degree felonies carry prison terms of nine months to three years.
Massey is set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on May 29. He was in custody at the Butler County Jail as of 2 p.m. May 27. Tye was not listed as an inmate at the jail.
