Man charged with aggravated assault

Michael Berstecher, 29, charged after punching victim in head

A Hatfield Township man is in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility following an alleged assault that occurred Saturday night and left the victim with multiple serious injuries.

Michael Berstecher, 29, of 2100 block of North Line Street, has been charged with first-degree felony aggravated assault and related offenses, in connection with the Dec. 16 incident. He’s being held on $10,000 cash bail, according to court records.

Hatfield Police received a call just before 9:30 p.m. regarding an assault that had occurred at an apartment along the 100 block of North Market Street in Hatfield Borough. The caller told police the victim — identified as an adult male — had been taken to Lansdale Hospital after he had been punched in the face multiple times by Berstecher, according to the criminal complaint.

Police said they responded to the location of the assault and spoke with a tenant, who said Berstecher had arrived at their apartment at 8:07 p.m., headed to a rear bedroom where the victim was located, and immediately knocked him to the ground and began punching him multiple times. The tenant said they were able to pull Berstecher off the victim and had him leave the apartment, at which point the victim was observed spitting up blood and taken to the hospital, according to charging documents.

Additional witnesses at the scene corroborated the tenant’s account of events, police said.

Investigators spoke with the victim at the hospital, who said he was in a back bedroom playing video games when Berstecher entered the room. The victim said he stood up to shake Berstecher’s hand, at which point Berstecher punched him in the temple, knocking him to the ground, according to police.

Berstecher then allegedly stood over the victim and continuously punched him in the face, police said. The victim also alleged that Berstecher either punched or stepped on his ribs.

As a result of the assault, the victim sustained multiple fractures to his skull, jaw, and ribs, investigators said. He was subsequently transferred to an area trauma center due to the extent of his injuries.

The criminal complaint does not provide any context regarding what led to the incident.

Berstecher was taken into custody later that evening and arraigned the following morning by Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Jan. 10, 2024, at 10:15 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine.

The victim has since been released from the hospital.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.