Vandergrift teen accused of assaulting 63-year-old man, beating him with his own walking stick

Vandergrift police accused a teenager of beating a 63-year-old man until he fell to the ground then continuing the assault by grabbing the walking stick the man was using and repeatedly striking him.

Jackson Mills, 15, of the 200 block of Holmes Street in Vandergrift was charged Tuesday with felony counts of aggravated assault, robbery, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, along with two counts of simple assault.

Mills is being charged as an adult, according to court personnel. He was notified of the charges by summons and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing Dec. 19 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that the man’s daughter called police about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 2 and reported that he was jumped by four people while walking near the intersection of West Monroe and Hancock avenues near Kennedy Park.

The woman and another man were able to detain a juvenile involved in the incident until police arrived, according to the complaint. The juvenile told officers he was walking home from a football game when he met up with Mills and two teenage girls, the complaint said.

When police met with Mills and his mother at the police station Oct. 9, they questioned him about the assault and he admitted to beating up the man, police said.

According to the complaint, Mills told police the man was trying to talk to the two girls and said: “I thought it was wrong at the time and beat him up.”

Police said a video of the assault shows Mills yelling at the man before punching him in the head.

In the video, the man is seen trying to balance on a wooden walking staff while being punched by Mills, the complaint said. The man fell to the ground after Mills repeatedly kicked and struck him with his knee, police said.

Mills continued hitting the man before grabbing the wooden staff and repeatedly striking him, according to the complaint.

After the assault, Mills asks the person video recording the assault to send a copy to him, the complaint said.