Officers arrived at this location and located an 18 year old Pottsville male.
The victim was bleeding extensively from the chest and told officers that he had been stabbed by a male who he identified as Christopher James Rojas, 17, of Pottsville.
Due to the injuries, the victim was transported to Lehigh Valley East Campus where he was provided initial medical attention then transferred to Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest Hospital located in the Lehigh Valley.
The Pottsville Bureau of Police immediately began to investigate this incident and quickly located Rojas near the Pottsville/Palo Alto bridge and after a brief foot chase he was taken into custody and transported to City Hall.
The Pottsville Bureau of Police immediately began to investigate this incident and quickly located Rojas near the Pottsville/Palo Alto bridge and after a brief foot chase he was taken into custody and transported to City Hall.
The investigation revealed that Rojas and the victim engaged in a verbal altercation in the area of E. Norwegian St. and N. George St which quickly escalated into a physical confrontation with Rojas stabbing Kelley multiple times with an edge weapon.
Officers were able to interview several witnesses who both observed the altercation and heard statements made by Rojas after the incident in which he confessed to the incident.
After consulting with the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s office, a criminal complaint was prepared by Det Joseph Welsh charging Rojas with Criminal attempt to Commit Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Recklessly Endangering another person, Possessing Weapons of a crime and Persistent Disorderly Conduct. Rojas was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Reiley who committed Rojas to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of 100,000 straight cash bail.
Pottsville Police were assisted by police from Orwigsburg PD, Schuylkill Haven PD, New Castle PD, Minersville Police PD, St. Clair PD, Port Carbon PD, New Philadelphia PD ,PA State Police(Frackville and Schuylkill Haven Barracks) and Schuylkill County Domestic Relations.