GREENSBURG, Pa. — Surveillance video from a nearby tattoo shop shows the moments before and after a stabbing outside of the Rialto in November 2022. It was shown to the jury Wednesday in the case against the suspect, Anthony Sharp.
It’s a stabbing Sharp and his attorney said happened in self-defense.
“The allegation is that the victim was stabbed, our position was that it was absolutely reasonable and necessary in the circumstances,” said defense attorney Steve Colafella.
It was justified, Colafella said, because the victim, Joey Williams, started a fight inside the bar.
“Unprovoked, he was headbutted in the face,” Colafella said. “That led to a couple of altercations in the bar, a couple of people got involved.”
During his testimony Tuesday, Williams told the jury the headbutt was a “lapse in judgment.”
One of the victim’s friends told the jury Wednesday there were several fights inside that bar between the two after that headbutt from Williams.
That friend said they separated the two, but sharp then punched Williams in the back of the head, and then again in the face before they were kicked out of the bar.
Once outside and separated, Colafella said Williams assaulted Sharp, who ended up on his back, and that’s when the stabbing happened.
“He wasn’t expecting to be assaulted, and he was perfectly within his rights to defend himself once he was headbutted in the face,” Colafella told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.
Current Greensburg police chief Charles Irvin was the lead detective on the case. The jury heard testimony from him and Detective Sgt. Justin Scalzo Tuesday.
Prosecutors showed jurors the video of Sharp’s interview with police just hours after the incident.
In that interview, Sharp is worried about Williams. He said he pulled his pocket knife out to defend himself while Williams had Sharp on his back. He also mentions at times inside the bar after the headbutt, he was the aggressor.
“And we’re okay with that,” Colafella said. “That situation was over as far as we’re concerned until he gets out on the street.”
The defense also questioned police on why Williams was not charged with anything that happened inside, including the initial headbutt.
Chief Irvin said that was never discussed.
He said it was a mutual fight inside the bar until it became what they called an attempted homicide in the street.
Colafella said he feels police only charged Sharp because he had more injuries.
“It’s a self-defense case and there are circumstances where you’re permitted to use deadly force, this being one of them,” Colafella said. “So, I think it’s short-sighted to make a charging decision based solely on that.”
Prosecutors have one more witness to call Thursday morning, and then the defense will be able to present its case to the jury.
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