Charges filed in Downtown Pittsburgh hotel attack
Pittsburgh police arrested a man who they say viciously attacked another man this week in a Downtown hotel elevator.
Police charged Heiko Lamar Joseph Calhoun, 26, who is homeless, with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery and recklessly endangering another person, court records show.
Calhoun was arraigned Tuesday and remains in Allegheny County Jail. District Judge Nicholas C. Martini denied him bail because he said Calhoun is a threat to the victim and the community.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 7.
The attack was reported to police just after 7 p.m. Monday at the Even Hotel on Forbes Avenue, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. First responders found the victim, who police did not identify, unconscious with his pants ripped off and bleeding from the face and head, the complaint said.
The victim was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital and was in critical condition, police said.
Surveillance footage showed Calhoun placing the other man in a chokehold from behind, the complaint said. After both fell to the floor, police said Calhoun banged the victim’s head on the ground repeatedly.
The footage showed Calhoun walk away with the victim limp on the floor, but he returned several times to continue attacking the other man and he later took his pants, the complaint said.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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