Two Levittown men were charged recently in a violent assault that reportedly ended with a gun being fired.
The assault happened at a New Year’s party on Mayflower Drive in Bristol Township’s Levittown section on the morning of January 1. The male victim was bloodied when police arrived around 3 a.m. and later determined to have a fractured nose and a chipped tooth.
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Witnesses told police John Kostar, 20, and Robert Hislop, 19, began attacking the man and Hislop also commented he had a problem with the man before attacking him, according to court papers.
One witness attempted to help the man and stop the assault, but Hislop pointed a black, semi-automatic handgun directly at him and said, “back the f**k up,” court papers say. A resident of the Mayflower Drive home tried to breakup the altercation but he also had a handgun pointed at him.
Kostar and Hislop eventually left and house and a gunshot was heard outside the home, police said.
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Court documents show police spoke with several witnesses who all told similar versions about the assault and gun being pointed at party goers.
Police were able to identify Hislop and witnesses later identified Kostar during a late January photo lineup.
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A witness to the January 1 attack said he saw Kostar a week after the attack inside a convenience store. The witness told Kostar police knew his identity and the 20-year-old said “you’re next” and then “motioned with his fingers as if to shoot him with a gun,” according to court papers. A second witness reportedly said Kostar contacted him and said he heard people provided his name to police.
Hislop was charged with two counts of simple assault and a single charge of harassment. Kostar was charged with multiple counts of simple assault, terroristic threats, harassment and single charges of possession of an instrument of crime and witness intimidation. Both are free and were charged via mail summons.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
