CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — The trial for Matthew Atcheson, who is accused of attempted homicide, continued on Thursday with the victim, Damen Dubrock, taking the stand at the opening of the day, and Atcheson’s wife as the final witness of the day.

Atcheson, of Brookville, is accused of cutting the throat of New Bethlehem resident Damen Dubrock, on Saturday, October 27, 2018, at Desperado’s Bar on Broad Street in New Bethlehem.

On a day that saw several more witnesses from the night of the alleged crime take the stand, Damen Dubrock was the first to recount the events of the night.

Dubrock testified that the night began simply enough, with “nothing out of the ordinary” at Desperado’s Bar prior to his first run-in with Matthew Atcheson, who he said was was having a disagreement with the bartender over being shut-off and refused further alcohol.

Dubrock said Atcheson was “visibly upset” and was “disrespectful” to the bartender, Brinnalyn Bish, who was, at that time, dating Dubrock’s brother. According to Dubrock, Atcheson called Bish several derogatory names, including “a b-word and a c-word” and also “slammed” his hand repeatedly on the bar. Dubrock reported he told Atcheson: “Calm down, you’re not going to get served acting like that.”

Dubrock went on to testify that his statement didn’t go over well with Atcheson, and Atcheson allegedly began calling him names, at which point an argument ensued. When questioned about any physical interaction, Dubrock admitted to pushing Atcheson during the argument.

According to Dubrock, that’s when Atcheson became threatening, stating: “I’ll slit your throat. I’ll kill you.”

Dubrock said other people then got involved, getting between the two men, and Atcheson then left the bar.

However, Atcheson came back later that night. Dubrock testified that he was playing pool when Atcheson returned, still upset about the previous incident, and began the argument again. He reported Atcheson said something along the lines of “Do you want to do something about it now” and urged him to “go outside.”

According to Dubrock’s testimony, when he finally did go outside with Atcheson, “it was quick.” He reported seeing Atcheson reaching for something in his back pocket, which Dubrock said he thought at the time may have been brass knuckles. Dubrock said he reacted by striking Atcheson in the face, “in the area of his eye.” He said Atcheson then fell into a mud puddle, while he headed back inside the bar and went back to playing pool.

Dubrock testified that he didn’t specifically recall when Atcheson returned to the bar again and couldn’t remember if Atcheson directed any comments to him prior to when his throat was cut. He said he did remember walking away from the pool table, heading either toward the bar or the coat rack to get his coat just before he was cut.

“I remember feeling a ripping across my throat and blood coming out.”

He said some of the events of the night were “fuzzy” and recalled that after being cut, he looked at Brittany Tassey, who he was aware was a nurse. He recalled Brad Ryan bringing him a rag to try to hold over the wound, and someone screaming to call 9-1-1.

“I remember getting cold and thinking I was going to pass away.”

During his testimony, Dubrock noted he left the bar after being cut, stating he was concerned about getting into trouble, since he was, at the time, on probation, and should not have been at the bar.

He recalled feeling that he might pass out while waiting for the ambulance, but was unable to remember actually getting into the ambulance. He did recall being inside the ambulance, with EMTs checking his pupils and giving him oxygen. The next thing he said he could remember was waking up on life support in a hospital in Pittsburgh.

He noted he had stitches inside his throat, as well as a drain tube that had to be removed later. He showed the jury the distinct scar left on his throat from the incident.

In the cross examination by the defense, Dubrock didn’t waiver from his earlier statement that Atcheson “slammed” on the bar prior to the earlier incident in the bar. While he was unable to recall all of the specifics of the argument he had with Atcheson, he stated he tried to tell him to “move on” after he was shut off.

When questioned about why he went outside with Atcheson, Dubrock said he thought “he’s not leaving” and noted Atcheson asked him repeatedly to go outside.

Defense Attorney Urbano also questioned Dubrock about statements in his interview with the Pennsylvania State Police, noting Dubrock hadn’t mentioned Atcheson’s alleged threats earlier in the night in his interview.

“The investigator was asking more about his immediate actions before I got my throat cut,” Dubrock said.

When questioned further about his interaction with Atcheson outside, Dubrock reiterated that he saw Atcheson reach for something in his pocket, and said it wasn’t “a normal move” unless Atcheson was “reaching for something to harm me with.” He said again that his “first thought” was that Atcheson may have brass knuckles.

While he agreed that he initiated the first physical contact, when he pushed Atcheson earlier in the night, the question of who “started it” became a sticking point, with Dubrock asserting that Atcheson was “violent” in terms of the threats he made.

After stating again that Atcheson threatened “I’ll slit you throat” and “I’ll kill you” during their earlier interaction, Dubrock asserted that it was visible in the video where he “stuck his throat out” in response to the threat, and the video footage of the scuffle was shown again.

Under further questioning, Dubrock stated he wasn’t afraid until they were stepping outside, and he saw Atcheson reaching for something. When asked why he didn’t leave following the incident outside, if he was afraid, he said he didn’t think Atcheson would return to the bar again.

“He went unconscious for a moment. I thought he would leave and go home.”

WITNESSES FROM NEARBY TESTIFY

The next two witnesses to testify were not at Desperado’s Bar during the primary events of the night, but witnessed parts of the night’s events.

Witness Megan Crawford testified that she was at Diddy’s Bar, next door to Desperado’s Bar, and had stepped outside to get some air when she heard screaming. Crawford said she followed the noise down to the area of the post office, where she found Dubrock being supported by William “Billy” McElravy and bleeding heavily. She noted they were standing near a truck by the post office when she came across them; she said that Dubrock was “gushing blood” and began to collapse. She and McElravy then helped Dubrock to the ambulance when it arrived.

Witness Robert “Bobby” Hill testified to seeing the earlier interaction between Atcheson and Dubrock outside of Desperado’s Bar.

Hill stated he was at a cousin’s house, standing outside on a fire escape, when he saw people outside the back of the bar and saw one man strike another man in the face. Hill related that he couldn’t see well enough from his position to see who the men were and went down to see if it was anyone he knew.

According to his testimony, Hill got down and discovered Atcheson, who he didn’t know at the time, just getting to his feet. Hill then went into the bar to see if he knew anyone there that night and left a short time later.

When asked if he saw any further interaction between the men or anyone else having physical contact with Atcheson, he said he did not.

WITNESSES REPORT ATCHESON THREATENED DUBROCK

Dylan Donini, another patron at Desperado’s Bar, was the next to take the stand. Donini, who was there that night with her boyfriend, Timothy Kneidel, and two friends from Chicago, testified that she didn’t know Atcheson or Dubrock prior to that night and didn’t know most of the other patrons at the bar.

According to Donini’s testimony, the initial conflict began a short time after Atcheson was cut off after falling out of his chair while inebriated. She noted that Atcheson was “belligerent from the moment he walked in,” and then became “hostile” after being cut off.

Donini related that Atcheson “repeatedly” said “violent things.” She testified that Atcheson threatened to “cut,” “stab,” and “kill” Dubrock at points through the night and may have directed some of the threats at the bartender, as well.

When questioned about the point where the men went outside, Donini noted she could see out of the door as it opened, as more people followed them, and saw Atcheson “coming at” Dubrock and said Dubrock then “punched” Atcheson before walking back in a very short time later.

During questioning about Atcheson’s state when he returned to the bar again, Donini reported Atcheson’s return frightened her, saying “I was scared. I got a bad feeling in my gut,” and continued to say “I knew something bad was going to happen.”

Donini noted she missed some of what happened because she fled to the nearby bathroom.

“I believed there was going to be a fight and didn’t want to be caught in it.”

She reported seeing Atcheson reach for his back pocket before she closed the bathroom door. When she reopened it just seconds later, she saw that Atcheson had fled, and there was “blood everywhere.”

Under cross examination, Donini reiterated that Atcheson made threatening statements to Dubrock, including threats to “kill” him during their earlier interaction.

“He was screaming it. He was angry, and I was scared of him,” she noted.

She also noted the bartender “look terrified” of Atcheson.

Timothy Kneidel, who was there with Donini that night, was the next to take the stand. A St. Marys resident, with no connection to anyone there that night other than Donini, Kneidel said the incidents seemed to start with Atcheson getting into an argument with the bartender over being “shut off.”

Kneidel testified that after Dubrock began to argue with Atcheson, he also heard Atcheson threaten to “kill” Dubrock and “slit his throat.”

Kneidel reported he was sitting by the jukebox that night and could clearly see both doors of the bar. He noted when Atcheson returned he “looked determined” and “walked straight up to Damen.”

When questioned more closely about whether or not he had any doubt about who he heard making threats to “kill,” Kneidel said he had no doubt at all and said “it was the person who did the cutting.”

PROSECUTION RESTS, DEFENSE CALLS WITNESSES

The first witness called by the defense in the case was Joanne Smith, another patron at Desperado’s bar on the night in question.

Smith told a slightly different story of her experience of the night than some previous witnesses.

Shown in the video exiting during the time that Atcheson and Dubrock both went outside, Smith reported seeing Dubrock, William “Billy” McElravy, and another man “kicking” Atcheson while he was on the ground outside.

Smith testified that she and another person, though she was unable to recall who, then helped Atcheson out of the puddle he had fallen into before she returned inside.

Under cross examination, Smith stated she didn’t know where Renee Atcheson, Matt Atcheson’s wife, was during or immediately after the incident outside, and did not see her outside.

When questioned about video footage that apparently showed Renee Atcheson reentering the bar, through the same back door, just moments before Smith reentered the bar, Smith stated, “I didn’t see her.”

Smith also alleged that she didn’t see the moment that Matt Atcheson pulled a knife and cut Damen Dubrock’s throat, and was “unaware” of what had happened.

Assistant District Attorney Welsh replayed the video footage of the time of the interaction, which apparently showed Smith nearby, seeming to wipe something off her face in the seconds after the event.

When questioned about the video, Smith stated she thought it was “sweat” she was wiping off her face, and said “it wasn’t blood or anything.”

Smith also testified that she didn’t hear the screams and shouts to call 9-1-1 following the violent incident, despite still being in the bar.

“Maybe I had more to drink than I thought I did,” she stated.

WITNESSES AT DIDDY’S BAR TESTIFY

The next few witnesses were present at Diddy’s Bar, next to Desperado’s Bar, on the night in question.

Witness Rex Young testified he was at Diddy’s Bar when Matt Atcheson came through the back door looking “like someone beat the snot out of him.”

Young stated he got up and took Atcheson outside to a vehicle, and told Atcheson’s wife he should be taken to get medical attention.

Young also reported he had been at Desperado’s Bar earlier in the evening, but hadn’t seen anything that occurred there.

However, under cross examination, Young admitted he did see an earlier altercation between Atcheson and his wife at Desperado’s during which “she shoved him.”

Rex Young’s wife, Brandy Young, was next to take the stand. Brandy Young also stated that Atcheson came in the back of Diddy’s Bar “beat up.”

“You could tell he had gotten into a fight,” she stated, noting that Atcheson had blood on his face, a cut over his eye, and was wet and muddy. She also reported he looked “like he was in shock.”

Both Brandy Young and Rex Young denied any contact between Atcheson and Brandy Young during the earlier altercation in Desperado’s Bar. When shown video footage of the incident, where Atcheson apparently did push Brandy Young, she said she “didn’t remember that,” and noted “I was drinking a lot that day.”

The next witness called to the stand was Brenda Powell, who was working at Diddy’s Bar on the night of the incident.

Powell testified that she did see Atcheson coming in the back door “looking beat up and bloody,” and said he seemed “disoriented,” but was only able to say he wasn’t in Diddy’s Bar for very long.

Stanley Pohl, another patron at Diddy’s Bar that night, also testified to seeing Atcheson come in the back door. He noted Atcheson was wet, and “covered in blood,” and stated “he seemed lost.”

When questioned about Atcheson carrying a knife, Pohl stated he wasn’t surprised and noted it is “normal” for many people in the local region to carry a folding knife.

Under cross examination, Pohl stated he did not see Atcheson talk to anyone during the short time he came into Diddy’s Bar.

The next witness, Chelsea Priester, who was also at Diddy’s Bar that night, also testified to Atcheson’s “beat up” state when he came through the back door of the bar that night. She reported she noted “blood running down his face” at the time.

Priester also stated that Atcheson’s wife, Renee Atcheson, went to speak to him while he was in Diddy’s Bar.

ATCHESON’S WIFE TAKES THE STAND

The final witness called to the stand on Thursday was Renee Atcheson, Matthew Atcheson’s wife.

When questioned about what “started it all” that night, Renee Atcheson said it all began earlier in the night, before Matt was “shut off.” She testified that it began with a spilled beer, saying Matt “bumped” a beer, which spilled onto Damen Dubrock and “Damen started freaking out.” Renee reported that the bartender soothed the situation, and Matt cleaned up the spill.

She related that it was “maybe 20 minutes” later that the first altercation between Matt Atcheson and Dubrock occurred, during which “Damon shoved Matt.” She admitted to her own involvement in that altercation, noting she also “shoved” Matt Atcheson, in an attempt to “break up” the conflict between the men.

Responding to questions about what occurred outside the back of the bar later that night, Renee Atcheson said she wasn’t present for it and couldn’t say exactly what had happened.

She testified that when he came into Diddy’s Bar following the alleged incident, he was bloody, with his “jaw swollen,” and he was “just not himself.”

When questioned directly about the knife, Renee Atcheson stated Matt Atcheson “carries a pocket knife every day” and said he always carried it in his right front pocket.

Under cross examination, Renee Atcheson again admitted that she did push Matt Atcheson during the earlier altercation but denied ever having struck him. When shown video footage of the incident, she said it did appear as though she struck him, but she said it wasn’t how it looked and repeated that she never hit him.

When questioned further about the culminating incident of the night, Renee Atcheson reported, “I know I was not in there when Damen got his throat cut” and asked for video footage of the incident to be replayed, several times.

“I know I wasn’t in there,” she stated again.

During further questioning, she said she was unable to recall the timing of the events and admitted she could see Matt Atcheson putting his hand on the knife in the video footage.

When questioned even further about her statements that she wasn’t present at the time of the knife incident, she asked for more of the video footage to be replayed and stated “I didn’t see what happened.”

During additional questioning about how Atcheson tends to carry his knives, Renee Atcheson stated: “His knife is always closed.”

Following Renee Atcheson’s testimony, Judge Arner called for the court to recess for the day and to resume at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, December 20.