HUNTINGTON — Two men who were arrested in connection with an assault in Ritter Park early on July 16 chose to waive their preliminary hearings in Cabell County Magistrate Court Thursday.
Matthew C. Diamond, 20, and Brock Mazdra, 18, were charged with felonies and arraigned after a person was recorded being assaulted near 12th Street and McCoy Road, according to criminal complaints provided by the Cabell County Magistrate Clerk's office.
Mazdra, of Huntington, was charged with malicious assault and is currently being held in Western Regional Jail on $150,000 bail.
Diamond, of South Shore, Kentucky, was charged with conspiracy and is also being held in Western Regional Jail on $150,000 bail.
Cases for the two men will proceed to Cabell County Circuit Court.
Diamond, Mazdra and a third individual named in the complaints — James W. Clapper — were initially arrested in Kentucky, according to two news releases from the Huntington Police Department.
Clapper was arrested on a warrant for felony malicious assault, according to an HPD Facebook post. Clapper has not yet been extradited to West Virginia from Kentucky, according to Evan Lee, communications director for City of Huntington. Clapper is facing unrelated charges in Kentucky, which Lee said must be adjudicated first.
According to indictment records provided by the Greenup County (Kentucky) Circuit Clerk's office, Clapper was charged in Kentucky in November 2024 with strangulation, terroristic threatening and harassing communications, for which he will be tried in Greenup County Circuit Court on Monday.
According to the criminal complaint, Mazdra was witnessed punching and kicking the victim several times. The victim was struck in the face and fell to the ground, where he was continually struck, according to the complaint.
The victim was taken to a hospital on July 19, where he was evaluated for his injuries, including possible fractures to his jaw, nose and eye socket.
According to the complaint, Diamond recorded the assault on a cell phone and failed to intervene or call for emergency services. The videos were then shared by Diamond and another unnamed person on social media, according to the complaint.
According to an emailed statement, following their investigation HPD expects no other arrests in this case.
Assault victim arrested for unrelated charges
Records provided by the Boyd County Circuit Clerk's Office show the victim, Liam Lyons, 22, was indicted in 2023 for theft and an unlawful transaction with a minor.
In April, records show he was charged with failure to report to probation/parole officer as directed.
Lyons was arrested by Huntington police officers, charged as a fugitive from justice and booked in the Western Regional Jail on Thursday. He will be housed there while awaiting extradition to Kentucky, according to HPD.
Reporter Maggie Susa contributed to this article.Â
CLICK HERE to follow the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail and receive
