A second defendant in an assault at a party in Mahoning Township was sentenced Monday in Carbon County court.

Aric Tyler Fox, of Loysville, Perry County, and formerly of Summit Hill, was sentenced to serve one to one day less 24 months in the county prison on a charge of simple assault.

He was charged for his part in an assault that occurred in August 2019. Four people were charged in the incident which resulted in serious injury to one of the victims. Fox previously pleaded to the charge.

On July 6, Lucas Mika, 23, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of simple assault and was sentenced to serve three to one day less 24 months in the county prison. In both cases the district attorney’s office agreed to drop felony aggravated assault charges in exchange for the plea.

Judge Steven R. Serfass imposed the sentences.

Fox was charged for an incident on Aug. 11, 2019, at a residence along Semmels Hill Road.

At 5:10 p.m. officer Corey L. Frey received a report of an assault that had occurred the night before at a party. The victims, a 15-year-old teen and his brother, were injured during the assault and had to be treated at the hospital.

The teen was treated in the St. Luke’s Lehighton Emergency Room for second-degree burns to the back of his right leg from above his knee to his ankle. The other victim required surgery to wire his jaw shut and also needed stitches in the back of his head to close a laceration. He was taken to the Lehighton hospital but later transferred to a Lehigh Valley trauma center.

Charged in addition to Fox and Mika were Alexander Candelario, 21; and Justin Rodriguez, 20, both of Lansford.

The following day police talked to a 16-year-old witness who said she was at the party when someone messaged her, asking for the address. She said the man said he was with one other person. However, two carloads of people showed up, 10 males and two females.

The witness said everything was fine at first, and all of a sudden she saw someone on the ground with three or four men on top of him punching and kicking him.

The witness later identified two of the men and said that the other victim got involved to help his brother and that is when he got punched. The witness was unsure how many times the other victim was punched. She ran inside to get her friend, but when they came back outside the fight was over and everyone involved had left.

The witness identified two men in a photo lineup. On Aug. 13, the two victims came to the station to speak with the officers regarding the assault and said that while at the party, a kid came up to him, asking “who the kid from Allentown was.” The one victim said that as soon as he said, “yeah, why,” he got hit on the side and back of his head and was unsure who initially hit him.

The victim said that after being struck he fell and hit his head, and that while on the ground, he continued to get hit and stomped on. A female victim said she had attended the party and was attacked by four men at the same time, but was able to tackle one of the men and covered herself up.

She was shown the photo lineups and identified one of the men who assaulted her.

The other victim said that he went to the party with his cousin, and that when the fight started, he stepped in to help his brother and was hit from out of nowhere. He said that after being struck, he blacked out and woke up on the ground with someone punching him, and that after getting off the ground he was helped to the car.

Assistant District Attorney Brian B. Gazo, who prosecuted the case, said the victims in the assault agreed to the plea deal and reduced charges.

He asked for a jail term. He said he realized that under state sentencing guidelines, for the charge before the court, the range is probation to one month in the standard range because Fox has no prior criminal arrests. He said Mika had prior criminal arrests and that changed the sentencing range for him and resulted in the three month minimum term.

Defense Attorney Matthew G. Schnell, court appointed, argued his client has changed his life around, moved out of the area, got full-time employment and showed remorse for his actions. He asked for a probation sentence.

Fox told the court, “I just want to apologize for my actions and I’d like to move on.”

A relative of the victims, who also spoke at Mika’s sentencing, said the injuries the older brother sustained were serious and said the attack was premeditated. She claimed the four charged came to the party uninvited and with the purpose to assault her relative. She also claimed it was racially motivated.

Serfass said he had to consider all the facts and that one victim sustained serious injuries in rejecting probation.

Serfass also ordered Fox to make restitution for medical bills, his share, of $5,763.05, supply a DNA sample, have no contact with the victims, pay court costs of about $1,000, render 100 hours of community service and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole.

Serfass said he would permit Fox to serve the term on consecutive weekends so he can keep his job and pay the restitution bill and court costs. Fox will begin serving the term at 9 p.m. on July 23.

Co-defendant Rodriguez is due to enter a guilty plea on Aug. 9. Co-defendant Candelario has a status conference scheduled later this month.