Leonard Ruggiero Jr., 19, 101 First St., Coaldale, faces charges from an incident which took place at 1:27 a.m. April 26 at 212 W. Patterson St., Lansford. Charges of two counts each of simple assault and one of disorderly conduct were filed by Officer Jason Helmer.

According to an affidavit of probable cause:Helmer was dispatched to a report of an assault in the 200 block of West Patterson Street. Upon arrival he found the victim on the sidewalk in the area of 212 W. Patterson. The victim, Noah Krynock, had redness and swelling about his face and neck. He told Helmer he was assaulted by Ruggiero Jr., who had run away.Krynock said he was walking east on Patterson Street toward Turkey Hill when he walked past Ruggiero, who was on the porch of a residence. As he walked past, Ruggiero called him a derogatory name. Krynock said he did not reply and kept walking.Krynock said Ruggiero started following him up the street. He had a broken glass bottle in his hand, which he swung in Krynock's direction twice. Krynock said he tried to talk Ruggiero out of a fight. Krynock said that as Ruggiero followed him he told him he was going to beat Krynock's face in. Krynock said Ruggiero ran up and punched him in the back of the head and tackled him to the ground. He tried to push Ruggiero off him, punching him in the process.Krynock was taken to St. Luke's Miners Memorial Hospital, Coaldale, for treatment of his injuries.A witness told police he heard Krynock yelling for help, when he looked out his window he saw Ruggiero on top of Krynock.On April 29, 2011, Ruggiero came to the police station after learning police were looking for him. Ruggiero gave a written statement after waiving his Miranda warnings, stating there has been ongoing conflict with Krynock stemming from postings on Facebook. Ruggiero admitted to punching Krynock several times then running away because people were chasing him.