SHENANDOAH — Court documents filed , provide new details about a juvenile’s alleged stabbing during Thursday night’s football game at Shenandoah Valley High School Stadium, including witness accounts, descriptions of video evidence and the accused man’s account of the confrontation.
Jose Louis Nunez-Ovando, 42, faces six charges stemming from the near the stadium’s concession stand. Court records list a Frackville address for Nunez-Ovando, whom the initial Pennsylvania State Police release identified as being from Shenandoah.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Pennsylvania State Police at Frackville, the Schuylkill Communications Center received a report of a fight at the stadium at approximately 9:13 p.m.
Police allege Nunez-Ovando stabbed a juvenile male in the abdomen during the confrontation. The juvenile was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital–East in Pottsville before being airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest in Allentown.
Witnesses Describe Stadium Confrontation
The affidavit states that a concession stand worker told investigators he saw youths fighting and ran outside to intervene. The worker reported seeing Nunez-Ovando, whom he identified as the father of one of the youths involved, holding a knife in his right hand.
According to the affidavit, the worker told police he believed he saw Nunez-Ovando stab the juvenile before putting the knife back into his pocket. The worker said he began yelling that the man had a knife.
A school resource officer told police he also went to help break up the fight and heard someone shouting about a knife. When the officer asked who had it, Nunez-Ovando acknowledged possessing the knife and handed it to him, according to the affidavit.
The officer said he kept the knife and turned it over to state police when troopers arrived.
Police Describe Surveillance and Snapchat Videos
The investigating trooper reported reviewing stadium surveillance footage. According to the affidavit, the footage showed a fight between two juveniles, with several people attempting to intervene.
Police said Nunez-Ovando initially entered the confrontation to try to break it up, then removed an object that appeared to be a knife from his sweatshirt pocket and pulled the injured juvenile from the group.
The affidavit further alleges that a separate Snapchat video showed Nunez-Ovando removing a folding knife, unfolding it and thrusting it toward the juvenile with his right hand.
A juvenile friend of the victim told investigators the victim was punched in the face by another juvenile before Nunez-Ovando allegedly stabbed him. The friend said someone drove them to the hospital and that he held a tissue against the wound during the trip.
Nunez-Ovando Gives Police His Account
Troopers took Nunez-Ovando into custody at a residence in Frackville later Thursday night.
During an interview early Friday, Nunez-Ovando told police he had tried to break up a fight involving his son. He said another male punched him in the face and had a knife, which he took and placed in his pocket, according to the affidavit.
Nunez-Ovando said he later handed the knife to a school officer. He told investigators he did not see anyone injured but noticed blood on his hand when he arrived home, which he believed came from the knife.
The investigating trooper reported observing a small cut on Nunez-Ovando’s right fist.
Charges Filed and Bail Denied
Nunez-Ovando is charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault and first-degree misdemeanor possession of a weapon on school property.
He also faces second-degree misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, a third-degree misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct and a summary harassment charge.
A magisterial district judge denied bail Friday. The court docket states that no amount of bail or conditions would reasonably assure the safety of the community. Nunez-Ovando was committed to Schuylkill County Prison.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for .
The charges are allegations, and Nunez-Ovando is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.