Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department officials say deputies are putting together the narrative of events that occurred during an alleged fight on High Street at approximately 4:18 a.m. the morning of Oct. 27. An arrest was made after the altercation was broken up by a deputy who was in the area.
According to the criminal complaint, Deputy Zachary Greenawalt saw a fight between three males and a female in front on the Almost Heaven Bar and Grill on High Street in downtown Morgantown.
The deputy activated his lights and sirens to stop the fight and as he got out of the vehicle, he reported multiple people were pointing at a pistol lying on the ground where the fight had occurred.
At that time, Greenawalt stated, two males ran from the scene toward Walnut Street.
The deputy was in pursuit when the two turned down an alley where one of the males, later identified as Christian D. Rush, 25, of Waynesburg, Pa., attempted to hide at the bottom of a stairwell, the complaint said. The second male continued to run away.
Greenawalt placed Rush under arrest, then spoke with the female and the other male involved, who officials say was her 17-year-old son.
According to the complaint, they told the deputy they had just gotten off work at the Subway, which was next door to the bar. While standing outside, they said Rush, unprovoked, hit the woman in the back of the head then proceeded to punch her juvenile son in the face.
After the attack, the victims said Rush’s companion displayed a 9mm pistol in his waistband. The teen allegedly then smacked the gun, causing it to fall to the ground, the report said.
Greenawalt said Rush was uncooperative and refused to provide his name or the name of his accomplice. He also refused to provide fingerprints.
Rush was charged with two counts of battery, fleeing from law enforcement, obstructing and refusing fingerprints. He was arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court on Friday and was released from custody after posting a $25,000 bond.
At the time of this report, the second suspect remained unidentified.
